Aflac Duck Voice Gilbert Gottfried Axed For Tweeting Japan Jokes

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — That trademark shrill quack of the Aflac duck has gone the way of the dodo.

The insurance giant has fired Gilbert Gottfried after the comedian posted a string of mocking jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on Twitter over the weekend.

"I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say,`They'll be another one floating by any minute now," he tweeted Saturday.

Aflac Inc., which does 75 percent of its business in Japan, says the jokes do not represent the feelings of the company.

Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna said "there is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times."

The insurer says it will start a casting search for a replacement.

Gottfried, who has voiced the duck in numerous commercials since 2000, is not the voice of the duck in Japan.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)