Public relations exec and lawyer J. Peter Segall paid for a retraction in the Washington Post after a spoof “In Memoriam” ad he took out yesterday for April Fool's Day went terribly awry. Segall placed an ad about his friend, Edward M. Gabriel, an international business consultant and former U.S. ambassador to Morocco, in yesterday's Post. Apparently Segall plays private jokes on Gabriel every year, but this year it was a little too public:
“In language reminiscent of the movie ‘Brokeback Mountain,' the $322.20 ad said, ‘Though I no longer have you as my partner, this day will always be OUR anniversary. . . . I could never quit you.' … Segall said last night that he is a mature man who made an immature mistake. ‘As I said in a correction that I hope is published [today], I engaged in a very stupid and ultimately cruel April Fools' joke against a man that has been my best friend for 30 years, and I deeply, deeply regret it,' Segall said. Gabriel said he fielded calls all day from friends who thought he had died. One woman told him she spent two hours crying after seeing the ad. ‘He's an old friend who plays jokes on me every year, and some are hilarious, but they've been private,' Gabriel said. ‘He's a good friend who went a little too far. He's apologized profusely, and I've accepted it, but not without being a little hurt. I think — I know — he had no ill intent.'”
A ‘Death' Is Noticed [washington post]
