Kenneth Cole Thinks Egyptian Turmoil Is Hilarious Way To Sell Clothes

When you think of Kenneth Cole, you probably don’t associate the apparel brand with edgy, topical humor. And you probably won’t ever again, after the company stuck its shiny leather shoe in its mouth with a Tweet referencing the current political upheaval in Egypt.

Around 10 a.m. ET this morning, the Kenneth Cole Twitter account posted the following:

“Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online.”

The Tweet was signed “-KC,” which the Twitter page says denotes that the update was written by Mr. Cole himself.

You probably don’t have to guess that not everyone was amused by Ken’s little joke. The Tweet ultimately came down and KC was left to issue the following apology on his Facebook page:

I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.

Of course, the internet has already conjured up a bogus KennethCole PR Twitter full of topical sales pitches. Over at Buzzfeed, they’ve put together an early best-of collection.

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