Jason Biggs apologizes for Malaysia Airlines crash tweets
Jason Biggs sparked some social media outrage Thursday over a tweet in which he joked about the Malaysia Airlines flight that was shot down over Ukraine.
The "Orange is the New Black" actor wrote in a message that was later deleted, "Anyone wanna buy my Malaysian Airlines frequent flier miles?"
Some of Biggs' 451,000 Twitter followers didn't take too kindly to his joke about the crash, which killed 298 people.
He responded to those critics in a series of tweets in which he said, in part, "You don't have to think it's funny, or even be on my page at all." Biggs also wrote, "The idea that I wouldn't have any empathy [for] the victims or their families because I make a joke is absolutely ridiculous. [You] know that, right?"
Later Thursday, Biggs, 36, deleted the initial tweet and his subsequent responses and offered an apology to his fans.
1). Hey all- ok, so- I am deleting my previous tweets. People were offended, and that was not my intent. Sorry to those of you that were.
— Jason Biggs (@JasonBiggs) July 17, 20142). This is obviously a horrible tragedy, and everyone-including myself- is sad and angry about it. Sending positive thoughts to the
— Jason Biggs (@JasonBiggs) July 17, 20143). victims and their families. P.S. No one is making me send these tweets- I simply understand that my comments might have come off
— Jason Biggs (@JasonBiggs) July 17, 20144). as insensitive and ill-timed. For that, I apologize.
— Jason Biggs (@JasonBiggs) July 17, 2014This isn't the first time Biggs has made headlines for making controversial remarks on Twitter. In May, he posted a joke about the death of "The Bachelorette" contestant Eric Hill that some found to be distasteful, as well as another joke about "The Bachelor" in March that referenced the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.