Gilbert Got Fired

Comic Gilbert Gottfried has been let go from his position as the voice of the duck in AFLAC commercials.  A pretty cozy job, and I don't think it'll be hard to replace him.  He was dismissed because he tweeted a bunch of jokes about the tsunami in Japan.  He might have been fired anyway, but considering AFLAC is the biggest insurer in Japan, and does most of its business there, the company probably figured it had no choice.

What intrigued me was the Hollywood Reporter headline:  "Gilbert Gottfried Under Fire for Tweeting 12 Shocking Tsunami-Related Jokes."  I think most people would be offended, but "shocking" is a judgment call. (If you know how Gottfried operates, almost nothing he says is shocking.) Is it really the place of journalists to use such adjectives?