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A New Zealand man brought an emotional support clown to a meeting where he knew he’d be fired ...

chadskin

chadskin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,013
A Kiwi adman has chosen an unusual support person to accompany him to a redundancy meeting.

In lieu of the usual suspects of a friend, colleague or family member, the member of the creative team at FCB hired a professional clown to attend the meeting with him.

An image sent to the Herald overnight shows the staffer, sitting alongside his support clown while he talks to the individuals running the meeting.
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In the strange world of support creatures, this adds another colourful addition to a quirky crew that already includes hedgehogs, peacocks and goats.

The Herald understands that the clown blew up balloons and folded them into a series of animals throughout the meeting.

It's further understood that the clown mimed crying when the redundancy paperwork was handed over to the staffer.
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Rune Walsh

Rune Walsh

Too many boners
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,020
"The Herald understands that the clown blew up balloons and folded them into a series of animals throughout the meeting.

It's further understood that the clown mimed crying when the redundancy paperwork was handed over to the staffer"

I'm dead. The mental image is too much.
 
WascallyWabbit

WascallyWabbit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,399
Rune Walsh said:
"The Herald understands that the clown blew up balloons and folded them into a series of animals throughout the meeting.

It's further understood that the clown mimed crying when the redundancy paperwork was handed over to the staffer"

I'm dead. The mental image is too much.
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If you pitched this in a writer's room you'd be laughed out
Real life really is stranger than fiction
 
Maquiladora

Maquiladora

Member
Nov 16, 2017
5,083
From reading the article it sounds like the guy already had another job lined up for himself and his partner, so he was just having some fun.
 

Deleted member 4372

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,228
Rune Walsh said:
"The Herald understands that the clown blew up balloons and folded them into a series of animals throughout the meeting.

It's further understood that the clown mimed crying when the redundancy paperwork was handed over to the staffer"

I'm dead. The mental image is too much.
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This is goddamn hilarious.

Have Will Ferrell play him when this unemployed dude sells the rights
 
BebopCola

BebopCola

Member
Jul 17, 2019
2,047
Extra props for it being a legit-looking birthday party clown and not some edgelord Joker wannabe.

I hope there was a sad trombone or slide whistle involved as well.
 
Gwenpoolshark

Gwenpoolshark

Member
Jan 5, 2018
4,109
The Pool
Can I just say how much I hate the term "redundancy" as a code word for "we're letting you go?" Makes it sound so much worse while also trying to couch it in better terms.

Good for this bloke.
 
robot

robot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,469
The only strange thing about this is someone is somehow comforted by clowns. Once you wrestle with that fact everything else is a natural consequence.
 
Komo

Komo

Info Analyst
Verified
Jan 3, 2019
7,110
Rune Walsh said:
"The Herald understands that the clown blew up balloons and folded them into a series of animals throughout the meeting.

It's further understood that the clown mimed crying when the redundancy paperwork was handed over to the staffer"

I'm dead. The mental image is too much.
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God I fucking need to see that interview I can't imagine a straight face on anyone there
 
Oozer

Oozer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,825
"Emotional Support Clown" would be a great name for a band. Or an ICP album.
 
Parch

Parch

Member
Nov 6, 2017
7,980
Am I fired? Clown question bro.

I'm sure the company could have said the clown couldn't attend the meeting, a clown is not an emotional support animal, but it's all just for fun anyway.
 
MarioW

MarioW

PikPok
Verified
Nov 5, 2017
1,155
New Zealand
Gwenpoolshark said:
Can I just say how much I hate the term "redundancy" as a code word for "we're letting you go?" Makes it sound so much worse while also trying to couch it in better terms.
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Role redundancy is a specific thing and separate from a performance based dismissal. They have different reasons for happening, laws, processes, and outcomes in NZ.

So bundling it into a more generic term wouldn't be more helpful for the employee in question. If anything it would be less comforting (culturally here, being "made redundant" is seen as less personal than being "terminated or dismissed").

Regardless, it is actually the journalist of the article that uses the language, and there is no indication of the language, tone, or level of upfrontness the company actually used.
 
Bastables

Bastables

Member
Dec 3, 2017
367
Gwenpoolshark said:
Can I just say how much I hate the term "redundancy" as a code word for "we're letting you go?" Makes it sound so much worse while also trying to couch it in better terms.

Good for this bloke.
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It's a legalistic dodge move to fire you without cause ( we're restructuring therefore your role is no longer extent, nothing personal).
 
Afrikan

Afrikan

Member
Oct 28, 2017
16,970
I swear I love Kiwis sense of humor. I'd move down to Auckland or the area, if I had to move out of the Bay Area.
 
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