Jason Biggs made an ill-received “frequent flier miles” joke over Twitter shortly after Malaysia Airlines announced Flight 17 had been downed. After heavy criticism the actor deleted his initial tweet, deleted a subsequent rant and also issued an apology.
“Hey all- ok, so- I am deleting my previous tweets. People were offended, and that was not my intent,” he said in part one of a four-part apology. “Sorry to those of you that were.”
Here are the other three parts of his apology:
2). This is obviously a horrible tragedy, and everyone-including myself- is sad and angry about it. Sending positive thoughts to the — Jason Biggs (@JasonBiggs) July 17, 2014
3). victims and their families. P.S. No one is making me send these tweets- I simply understand that my comments might have come off — Jason Biggs (@JasonBiggs) July 17, 2014
4). as insensitive and ill-timed. For that, I apologize.
— Jason Biggs (@JasonBiggs) July 17, 2014
Biggs had originally tweeted the eyebrow-raising joke just an hour after the plane was reportedly shot down.
Also read: Malaysian Flight Crash: TheWrap’s Live News Coverage Blog
“Anyone wanna buy my Malaysian Airlines frequent flier miles?” Biggs had asked.
The “Orange Is the New Black” star was criticized for the comment, but fired back at detractors. He defended his original joke 140 characters at a time, labeling those who were offended by it “assholes” and “pussies.”
As TheWrap previously reported, those tweets sent angry Twitter users into a frenzy. Biggs’ afternoon apology, however, seems to have struck a softer chord.
Also read: Jason Biggs’ Malaysia Airlines Joke Sparks Social Media Backlash
One of his many sympathetic followers said:
@JasonBiggs I think you should know that you have many people standing behind you. You’re funny, and people just love to get offended.
— Jeni Bergles (@JenBergles) July 17, 2014
Malaysia Airline Flight 17 was reportedly shot down by a missile over Eastern Ukraine and all 295 of the people aboard are believed to be dead.