Charity apologises for ‘offensive’ joke which compared having a stroke to Coldplay affair

A has issued an apology after it shared an “offensive joke” comparing victims’ experiences to the recent Coldplay affair saga.

The Stroke Association shared a meme to Threads which said: “Us: ‘Nothing destroys lives quicker than a stroke.’

“*Viva La Vida plays softly in the distance*.

“*Coldplay has entered the chat*.”

The post comes as a video went viral showing two people allegedly having an affair on Coldplay’s “kiss cam” during a concert.

The video has done the rounds across the internet with many companies making jokes about it.

However, this one by the Stroke Association fell flat.

via Threads

Posting on LinkedIn, Sector Communications Consultant Tom Fishenden, said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if this one post has turned off some donors from the organisation.”

Others agreed, with one user commenting: “It’s touch and go whether any brand should be posting about this. For a charity to jump in the bandwagon – with such a tone-deaf post – is definitely not the way to go.”

Another person also added: “As a stroke survivor who has had touch points with the Stroke Association, this disgusts and disappoints me. I would not be surprised if they lost donors but it is massively damaging to their relationship with survivors too.

The Stroke Association has since deleted the post, with its CEO Juliet Bouverie writing on LinkedIn: “Whilst typically we would try to raise awareness of stroke in a way that aligns with the style and tone of the relevant social platform, capitalising on someone else’s misfortune, in a way which also caused offence amongst some stroke survivors, was ill-informed and a huge lapse in judgment, for which we are extremely sorry.”

Most Read

Amy Bradley was ‘found’ 20 years ago but the FBI dropped the case for a sad reason

Dog the Bounty Hunter’s grandson killed by his own dad in ‘incomprehensible’ tragedy

‘You belong to us’: OnlyFans model dumped in Dubai with broken spine speaks out for first time

She continued her statement by saying this isn’t how people “usually speak about stroke”, and that the post was “shortsighted and undermined the severity of the condition which we deeply regret”.

The CEO further apologised for how the company “initially responded to criticism”, adding: “It didn’t show the empathy or thoughtfulness that our community rightly deserves from us and that we pride ourselves on.

“We removed the post from Threads and are taking action to guarantee this can never happen again, so that we stay true to our values across all social platforms, and ensure our content always reflects the compassion and seriousness this cause deserves.”

Featured image via Threads