Justine Sacco, the fired public relations executive, released a statement apologizing for her racially insensitive tweet that touched off a maelstrom in the world of social media, ABC News reports.
In the statement, Sacco says she is a native of South Africa. Until recently, she worked for InterActive Corp., which owns websites like Match.com, Dictionary.com and Vimeo. But she was fired over a tweet that came from her account on Friday that read: "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!"
After sending her statement to a South African newspaper, the Star, Sacco shared the follow apology:
“Words cannot express how sorry I am, and how necessary it is for me to apologize to the people of South Africa, who I have offended due to a needless and careless tweet. There is an AIDS crisis taking place in this country, that we read about in America, but do not live with or face on a continuous basis. Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand. For being insensitive to this crisis—which does not discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation, but which terrifies us all uniformly—and to the millions of people living with the virus, I am ashamed. This is my father's country, and I was born here. I cherish my ties to South Africa and my frequent visits, but I am in anguish knowing that my remarks have caused pain to so many people here; my family, friends and fellow South Africans.  I am very sorry for the pain I caused. “
Read more at ABC News.