Random Inappropriate Tweets That Totally Backfired (22 items)

(#19) Susan Boyle
- Band/Musician
Always read what you write before you post. That's a lesson Susan Boyle's PR team will never forget going forward. Before the singer's new album launched, her team sent out a message with the hashtag #Suanalbumparty to try to raise awareness.

Unfortunately, many Twitter users pointed out that it looked more like "Sus An*l Bum Party," rather than "Susan Album Party." The team quickly changed it to #SusanBoylesAlbumParty, but Twitter was already having a field day with the hashtag.
(#14) The US State Department Was Just So, So Sexist

In an attempt to sound hip, the U.S. State Department tweeted out a message that said: "Not a '10' in the US? Then not a 10 overseas." It wasn't long before people called out the tweet for being sexist and insulting. Even worse, the State Department quickly tried to defend their actions in response to the onslaught of negative tweets, but that just made matters worse.

When something like this happens, it never helps to try to fight back against it. In order to save face, companies and organizations need to just apologize and move on, which is what the State Department did a little while later.
(#7) Roseanne Barr Sent Out A Racist Tweet About An Adviser For Obama

Rosanne Barr's Twitter feed is no stranger to conspiracy theories and questionable tweets, but her racist comment about former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett was the final straw for many. On May 29, 2018, the Roseanne co-creator and star tweeted about Jarrett, a Black woman who acted as a senior adviser in the Obama administration, and likened her to an ape, saying, "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."

Barr swiftly received backlash from her peers and Twitter users alike. She issued an apology, stating, "I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and looks. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste."

She was not pardoned by anyone. Soon after, ABC announced that the network canceled Roseanne. ABC Entertainment president, Channing Dungey, said, "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Barr said she was leaving Twitter in the aftermath of her comments.
(#20) Hillary Clinton
- US Congressperson
To try and help her brand, Hillary Clinton's administration tried to set up a social media campaign using #HillarySoQualified to try to get people on Twitter to explain why they thought Clinton would make a good president.
The hashtag was quickly hijacked by Twitter users, who turned it into a scathing criticism of the presidential candidate. People responded with things like "Fired from Watergate prosecution team for being a 'liar' and 'unethical.' #HillarySoQualified," and "HillarySoQualified for jail - it's criminal." To say that the Twitter campaign backfired would be a massive understatement.
(#17) KFC
- Restaurant
Most high-profile fast food chains have a certain image and brand they want to maintain. As a major presence in the world, they want to be sure to not anger large groups of people. KFC, however, was just kind of like, "Eh, whatever, this'll be mad funny."

The company tweeted out a suggestive image involving a bucket of chicken and blurred out images. Once backlash started to pour in by the bucketful, KFC quickly took down the tweet and apologized for their "error in judgment" in a subsequent message.
(#13) The Republican National Committee Claimed Racism Was Over

This seemingly nice gesture was met with disapproval when the Republican National Committee sent out a tweet praising Rosa Parks for "her role in ending racism." The poor choice of words left followers angry.
Even though a few people tried to defend the RNC's wording, it created a torrent of adverse reactions and caused the creation of a humorous hashtag: RacismEndedWhen. Later on, the RNC corrected the tweet by saying they honor Rosa Parks "and her role in fighting to end racism."