An ugly joke and no crisis management leaves the network deluged in social media hate
NBC’s annual New Years Eve bash was tainted by a thoughtless, tasteless, and downright stupid joke cracked by comedian Natasha Leggero, a guest on the show. We’ll let you see the clip first, then talk about the fallout after:
The pained look on veteran host Carson Daly’s face says it all really. We’d bet he was already anticipating a nasty backlash, and boy did it hit quick.
Immediately, NBC’s Twitter and Facebook accounts exploded with outraged comments, and the network’s #NBCNYE hashtag was put to use by those protesting, making sure anyone following the event on social media who may have missed Leggero’s comment got an eyefull. Twitchy.com has collected some of the early tweets if you’d like to see what sort of comments were made, but suffice to say nobody was happy.
We fully expected NBC to launch into crisis management mode, distance itself from Leggero and issue a full apology. Oddly, as of Jan. 2 the network still remains silent. Not only that, but its Facebook page is absolutely covered in angry comments from stakeholders, with every post since the incident being hijacked to return to the unaddressed NYE controversy.
A simple mea culpa would likely help this blow over in a matter of days, but by refusing to respond, NBC execs give the impression that they believe Leggero’s words were just fine, certainly not the perception we’d be allowing to fester.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com