Lawyer Pays for Retraction After Pulling Wash. Post Obit Prank
The prank that Washington, D.C., lawyer J. Peter Segall played on a longtime friend turned out to be no laughing matter when he was forced to pay a retraction and, apparently, strained his friendship.
Segall took out a fake “in memoriam” ad in the Washington Post on Tuesday with a photo of international business consultant Edward M. Gabriel, U.S. ambassador to Morocco from 1997 to 2001, the journalism industry magazine Editor & Publisher reports.
The Washington Post acknowledged the hoax today, noting that, “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, identified by the Post as a public relations executive and lawyer, reportedly said 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 Fool’s joke against a man that has been my best friend for 30 years, and I deeply, deeply regret it,” Segall said. The Post notes that the retraction appeared on page B7.
Gabriel, who fielded calls all day from friends, including a woman who said she spent hours crying over him, said he’s accepted Segall’s apology.
“He’s an old friend who plays jokes on me every year, and some are hilarious, but they’ve been private,” Gabriel is quoted saying. “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.”
Will there be more such spoof ads in the Post?
The venerable paper acknowledges that it doesn’t check the accuracy of its “in memoriam” ads, which are often taken out by relatives years after someone’s death.
