10 People Who Were Canned for Naughty Social Media Behavior

A look at employees who found themselves in hot water.

When Social Media Costs You Your Job - Tacky tweets, social media venting, Facebook conversations gone wrong? They are all acts that could cost you your job. Just ask Jofi Joseph, the White House staffer who was axed for bashing the government under a “parody” Twitter account. But Joseph isn’t the only adult to make headlines for alleged improper online behavior. BET.com takes a look at people who found themselves in hot water because of something they did or said on social media.— Dominique Zonyéé(Photo: Tuomas Kujansuu/Getty Images)

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When Social Media Costs You Your Job - Tacky tweets, social media venting, Facebook conversations gone wrong? They are all acts that could cost you your job. Just ask Jofi Joseph, the White House staffer who was axed for bashing the government under a “parody” Twitter account. But Joseph isn’t the only adult to make headlines for alleged improper online behavior. BET.com takes a look at people who found themselves in hot water because of something they did or said on social media.— Dominique Zonyéé(Photo: Tuomas Kujansuu/Getty Images)

Jofi Joseph - It took the government a little more than two years to discover that one of their own, Jofi Joseph, a former director in the nonproliferation section of the National Security Council, had a “parody” Twitter account. He used the Twitter handle @NatSecWonk to criticize government policies and bash his bosses, including President Barack Obama. Joseph was canned last week and has since apologized.(Photo: NBC)

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Jofi Joseph - It took the government a little more than two years to discover that one of their own, Jofi Joseph, a former director in the nonproliferation section of the National Security Council, had a “parody” Twitter account. He used the Twitter handle @NatSecWonk to criticize government policies and bash his bosses, including President Barack Obama. Joseph was canned last week and has since apologized.(Photo: NBC)

Rhonda Lee - Natural hair don’t care! Rhonda Lee, a former meteorologist for Louisiana's KTBS, was terminated from her position there in 2012 for replying to a viewer’s racially charged Facebook comments requesting that she wear a wig over her natural 'do. In the end, the Sheveport TV station issued a statement saying Lee was fired for “repeated violation of the station’s written procedure.”(Photo: CNN)

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Rhonda Lee - Natural hair don’t care! Rhonda Lee, a former meteorologist for Louisiana's KTBS, was terminated from her position there in 2012 for replying to a viewer’s racially charged Facebook comments requesting that she wear a wig over her natural 'do. In the end, the Sheveport TV station issued a statement saying Lee was fired for “repeated violation of the station’s written procedure.”(Photo: CNN)

Denise Helms - I scream, you scream, we all scream, "you’re fired." That’s what happened in 2012 to Denise Helms, the ColdStone Creamery ice cream scooper in California who was ousted for racist Facebook comments about President Obama. Helms’s comments, such as, “Another 4 years of this (N-word),” were so hair-raising the Secret Service opened an investigation on her.(Photo: Twitter via Denise Helms)

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Denise Helms - I scream, you scream, we all scream, "you’re fired." That’s what happened in 2012 to Denise Helms, the ColdStone Creamery ice cream scooper in California who was ousted for racist Facebook comments about President Obama. Helms’s comments, such as, “Another 4 years of this (N-word),” were so hair-raising the Secret Service opened an investigation on her.(Photo: Twitter via Denise Helms)

Ayo Kimathi - Ayo Kimathi was working as the acquisitions officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement by day and planning a “War on the Horizon” by night. He was fired in December after being put on paid leave in August for running a racist website, which bashed President Obama, gay people, whites and people of mixed race.(Photo: ABC)

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Ayo Kimathi - Ayo Kimathi was working as the acquisitions officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement by day and planning a “War on the Horizon” by night. Kimathi shocked his colleagues when they discovered his government-approved website was not set up to sell lectures and concert tickets, but was a platform to bash President Obama, gay people, whites and people of mixed race. Kimathi was put on paid leave in August.(Photo: ABC)

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April Sims - Imagine calling into 911 in panic and trying to get help from an operator who hates you because of the color of your skin. Dallas 911 operator April Sims, a closet racist, lost her job in June after co-workers discovered Facebook posts referring to Black people as animals.(Photo: Facebook via April Sims)

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April Sims - Imagine calling into 911 in panic and trying to get help from an operator who hates you because of the color of your skin. Dallas 911 operator April Sims, a closet racist, lost her job in June after co-workers discovered Facebook posts referring to Black people as animals.(Photo: Facebook via April Sims)

Roland Martin - Surely, images of David Beckham stripped down to his briefs got the Internet buzzing, but not like Roland Martin’s 2012 tweets criticizing men who found Beckham’s H&M ad hot. Martin’s homophobic comments landed him in hot water with gay activist groups and suspension from his post at CNN. The incident lead to an all-out war between Martin and CNN. Subsequently, CNN did not renew his contract.(Photo: Twitter via Roland Martin)

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Roland Martin - Surely, images of David Beckham stripped down to his briefs got the Internet buzzing, but not like Roland Martin’s 2012 tweets criticizing men who found Beckham’s H&M ad hot. Martin’s homophobic comments landed him in hot water with gay activist groups and suspension from his post at CNN. The incident lead to an all-out war between Martin and CNN. Subsequently, CNN did not renew his contract.(Photo: Twitter via Roland Martin)

Anthony Weiner - You can argue that sexting became famous thanks to former New York Congressman Carlos Danger aka Anthony Weiner. Busted in 2011 for tweeting a photo of himself in his underwear, he allegedly joining other social media platforms to sext and exchange semi-nude photos with young women. Weiner resigned and tried to run for mayor of NYC until he admitted mid-campaign the sexting continued after he resigned.(Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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Anthony Weiner - You can argue that sexting became famous thanks to former New York Congressman Carlos Danger aka Anthony Weiner. Busted in 2011 for tweeting a photo of himself in his underwear, he allegedly joining other social media platforms to sext and exchange semi-nude photos with young women. Weiner resigned and tried to run for mayor of NYC until he admitted mid-campaign the sexting continued after he resigned.(Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Nir Rosen - When a woman is sexually assaulted, one doesn't usually bash them on social media. Nir Rosen, a former New York University fellow, was forced to resign in 2011 following a Twitter rant poking fun at CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan who was attacked while reporting in Egypt. For his insensitivity, Rosen, a veteran war correspondent, resigned and issued an apology.(Photo: Twitter via Nir Rosen)

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Nir Rosen - When a woman is sexually assaulted, one doesn't usually bash them on social media. Nir Rosen, a former New York University fellow, was forced to resign in 2011 following a Twitter rant poking fun at CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan who was attacked while reporting in Egypt. For his insensitivity, Rosen, a veteran war correspondent, resigned and issued an apology.(Photo: Twitter via Nir Rosen)

Voula Papachristou Banned From Olympics - Racism is never cool, and one Greek Olympian athlete learned that the hard way. Triple-jumper Voula Papachristou was expelled from the London 2012 Olympics for tweeting, “With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitoes will be eating food from their own home.” She deleted her account after issuing an apology.(Photo: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

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Voula Papachristou - European athletes have been known to show their dislike for African and dark-skinned players time and again, and Greece’s Voula Papachristou is no exception. She became the first athlete to be banned from the Olympics in 2012 when she tweeted: “So many Africans in Greece at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food.”(Photo: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Adria Richards - Who knew standing up to sexism could get you fired? Computer programmer Adria Richards was at a work conference when she heard a group of men making sexist comments about female body parts. She took a pic of the men and posted it to her Twitter account. The men were reprimanded, but Richards was canned for reporting it on social media.(Photo: Twitter via Adria Richards)

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Adria Richards - Who knew standing up to sexism could get you fired? Computer programmer Adria Richards was at a work conference when she heard a group of men making sexist comments about female body parts. She took a pic of the men and posted it to her Twitter account. The men were reprimanded, but Richards was canned for reporting it on social media.(Photo: Twitter via Adria Richards)