Glenn Beck Calls Japan Earthquake Work of God; Gilbert Gottfried Apologizes
March 15, 2011 — -- According to Glenn Beck, the earthquake and tsunami that continue to wreak havoc in the Pacific Rim were a "message" from God.
On his radio show Monday, the conservative commentator rationalized the national disaster as God's work.
"I'm not saying God is, you know, causing earthquakes -- well I'm not not saying that either!" he said. "What God does is God's business, I have no idea. But I'll tell you this -- whether you call it Gaia or whether you call it Jesus, there's a message being sent. And that is, 'Hey you know that stuff we're doing? Not really working out real well. Maybe we should stop doing some of it.'"
He broke into a cackle before reiterating, "I'm just saying." (It's not clear why Beck brought up "Gaia" -- the word refers to the Greek version of Mother Nature but doesn't appear to have roots in Asian culture.)
CLICK HERE to listen to a clip from Glenn Beck's radio show.
Beck isn't the only personality making off-color remarks. Monday, comic Gilbert Gottfried lost his job as the voice of the Aflac duck after he tweeted, "Japan is really advanced. They don't go to the beach. The beach comes to them" and "I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, 'They'll be another one floating by any minute now."
Gottfried apologized for his joke today. "I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my attempt at humor regarding the tragedy in Japan," he told The Hollywood Reporter, and his followers via posts on Twitter. "I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families."
Before Gottfried, rapper 50 Cent crossed the line online. Shortly after Friday's earthquake, with tsunami warnings still in effect, 50 (real name: Curtis Jackson) tweeted "Wave will hit 8am them crazy white boys gonna try to go surfing." That afternoon, he added, "Look this is very serious people I had to evacuate all my hoe's from LA, Hawaii and Japan. I had to do it. Lol."
The rapper seemed to come to his senses minutes later, writing, "Nah this is nuts but what can anyone do about it. Let's pray for anyone who has lost someone." He then compared the natural disaster to a movie and said that "hate it or love it," "some of my tweets are ignorant I do it for shock value."
Meanwhile, some professional comics are organizing to donate to relief efforts. Tonight, several comedians including "Saturday Night Live" alum Kevin Nealon will perform a benefit show at Hollywood, Calif.'s Laugh Factory. All of the ticket sales from Stand Up for Japan will go to the Red Cross' fund for Pacific Rim relief. The jokes will not be in the vein of Gottfried's.
"Obviously it's not a good time to be joking about an incredible disaster," Nealon told ABCNews.com. "There won't be any of that tonight. This is for Japan."
The majority of stars have taken a compassionate attitude to the crisis. On his website, pop culture sensation of the moment Charlie Sheen announced that he will donate $1 from each ticket of his upcoming live show, "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option," to the Red Cross' fund for relief. Tickets to his Chicago, Ill. and Detroit, Mich. shows, which range from $35 to $75, reportedly sold out within minutes.
Late Friday, Lady Gaga announced she's selling a self-designed "We Pray for Japan" wristband on her website; all proceeds from the $5 band will go to Japan relief efforts.
