#JustineSaccoHasApologized

The not-so-PR-savvy former PR executive behind the "tweet heard round the world" is very and predictably sorry, reports ABC. Justine Sacco has issued an apology—blessedly not via Twitter—saying, "Words cannot express how sorry I am, and how necessary it is for me to apologize to the people of South Africa, who I have offended due to a needless and careless tweet." Sacco lamented the country's AIDS crisis, saying "it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand" before pointing the finger squarely at herself:

"For being insensitive to this crisis—which does not discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation, but which terrifies us all uniformly—and to the millions of people living with the virus, I am ashamed. This is my father's country, and I was born here. I cherish my ties to South Africa and my frequent visits, but I am in anguish knowing that my remarks have caused pain to so many people here; my family, friends and fellow South Africans. I am very sorry for the pain I caused." But it looks to be a while before the furor settles: The #HasJustineLandedYet hashtag is still going strong, and Buzzfeed has unearthed "16 tweets Justine Sacco regrets."