Kenneth Cole
When the Arab Spring took hold in Egypt, the uprisings made headlines around the world. While many people got on the revolution bandwagon, fashion designer Kenneth Cole decided to capitalize on the press momentum to promote his clothing collection. On Feb. 3, Cole tweeted, "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at https://bit.ly/KCairo — KC." The missive was widely mocked for being insensitive at best and downright offensive at worst; it even spawned a satirical KennethColePR Twitter account. "South Africans won't be able to tear APARTheid my new knits — they're just that strong! #KennethColeTweets," one (spoof) message read. Cole offered a clarification: "We weren't intending to make light of a serious situation," he said before apologizing in a Facebook post later the same day. By then, Cole's flub had long gone viral, and his written regrets did little to calm the ensuing controversy.