A professional darts player has claimed he lost ‘all his sponsors’ after cracking an inappropriate joke on Twitter.
Brazilian arrow-chucker Diogo Portela is known for making jokes online, and the 34-year-old even describes himself as ‘the funniest Brazilian you could ever meet’ on his Twitter page.
However, this joke hasn’t proven to be that much of a hit, given that the topic was suicide.
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Yep, it’s not exactly been a massive vote-winner, particularly with people who have chosen to have their brand associated with him.
The Rio de Janeiro born dartist likes to share a daily laugh with his 7,000 or so followers on Twitter, and on this occasion, he asked them: “What makes sad people jump?”
“A bridge,” Portela wrote.
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After he cracked this particularly dark piece of comedy on Sunday, Portela – the world number 51 – claimed that the brands he endorses got in touch to say that they’d be ending their relationship with him.
Who would have thought that publicly sharing a potentially offensive joke about tragedy would possibly have put them off, eh?
In a newly released statement, Portela admitted that he’s had issues with his mental health – potentially even suicidal thoughts – in the past, which is why he felt able to make light of the subject.
His statement read: "Earlier today I posted a joke, like I do every day. It touches a sensitive subject, I know, but it was a joke,
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"Having struggled with it myself, which was well documented, I felt the joke didn't offend me and I misjudged how it would offend other people.
"That joke made me lose all my sponsors. I understand their decision, however I had no intention to harm anyone when I posted it."
Whilst it’s probably true that he didn’t intend to hurt anyone or have anything this big happen to him as a result of the silly joke, there’s a wider lesson for us all here about sharing stuff online in the assumption that it will all just be fine.
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Not everyone takes things the way you do, and that’s definitely a lesson that Portela has now learned the hard way.
He continued: “It’s good to see Twitter reacting that way, which means people do care about it.
“I do apologise if anyone felt hurt by my joke, I didn’t mean that.
“I’ll keep posting jokes every day, because I know it makes people smile, and I will consider next time a sensitive subject comes into my jokes.
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“Once again, I do apologise for any harm I’ve caused, it wasn’t my intention.”
He seems sincere enough, so that should be the end of it - although it might not bring his sponsors back.
Still, there’s been a mixed reaction online, with some claiming that the alleged sponsorship cost to Portela is an overreaction.
One person wrote: "Bad joke? Very much so.
“But come on Diogo should not lose sponsors over this. OTT [over the top] for me.
“Met Diogo at my comp and what a top fella. No bad bone in him.”
Another said: "Fancy losing sponsors after making a silly but relatively small mistake and apologising. I’d like to know who dropped him because that’s wet.”
However, a third person said: "It's a sensitive subject to many pal. Just because it didn't offend you doesn't make it ok."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123
Tom Wood