"Tone deaf": Jetstar forced to apologise over "racist" joke
Jetstar has been forced to apologise after posting a "racist joke" on their Facebook page, in which they poke fun at the Vietnamese currency.
The Aussie airline mocked the currency of the Southeast Asian country in a post, saying, "Sorry but Vietnamese money being called Dong is objectively funny."
"And a million Dong is $65 and I basically have $65 which means I'm a millionaire," it wrote.
The post was flooded with comments from many of their 782,000 followers, resulting in the post being deleted.
One person wrote, "No more Vietnamese will fly with Jetstar. Racial hatred."
"I'll never choose Jetstar until they issue an official apology to the Vietnamese people," another declared.
A third comment read, "A tone deaf joke. Just a reminder — racial hatred is illegal in Australia. Just because you delete the post doesn't mean it's OK."
One commenter slammed the joke for being "unprofessional, disrespectful, and unacceptable".
"Ensure understanding of cultural respect and sensitivity before making culturally disrespectful joke on such a formal airline page."
Jetstar responded to some of the comments made about the post, with one response saying, "You are totally right, and that's why we've deleted the post. We're really sorry for any offence caused."
Another apology added, "We agree the post was inappropriate and as a result it was removed earlier today."
One flyer shared a personal apology message she received after contacting the airline through its official Facebook page to complain about the post.
"We agree the post was inappropriate and as a result it has been removed. We're really sorry for any offence caused," the Jetstar spokesperson wrote."
'Please be assured that this incident was in no way related to Vietnamese nationality or race."
"You have my absolute assurance that Jetstar will not tolerate discrimination on ethnicity, race or any other unlawful grounds."
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