When New Zealand man Joshua Jack received an email from his company stating that they needed to discuss his roll with the company and that he could “…bring a support person” he got the sense that he was about to be fired.
Now, when I think of bringing a support person, I think of perhaps a friend, spouse, relative, or therapist.
Maybe even a pet, but not Joshua. Being the trendsetter that he is, Joshua brought an emotional support clown.
You read the correctly, an emotional support clown. Please add it to your internal dictionary.
According to the New York Post, he paid $200 for Joe the Clown to attend his firing, and according to Joshua, and for that price Joe must be “…one of the best clowns in Auckland.”
Naturally, I have never hired a clown for a party, firing, or any other special event, so I cannot speak from experience on clown pricing. But what I can say is that Joshua Jack is my new number one hero.
Joshua did an interview with his local radio show Magic Talk about the experience.
He mentioned that Joe the Clown did a spectacular job making balloon animals during the firing. When the termination papers were slid across the table, Joe even mimed crying to ease the tension. Although, Joshua did mention that he had to ask Joe to quite down a few times.
Joe the Clown is now my new number two hero. I hope these two develop a YouTube channel.
As to the reactions of his former employer, we only have Joshua to go off of here, but he said,
“They were getting a free service and also getting the entertainment from Joe the clown.”
That does sound like quite a deal.
I would like to say that I have never actually been fired, but I was laid off once. And listen to me, it was awkward and emotional, and looking back, I could have really benefited from an emotional support clown.
So what did Joe the Clown think of all this?
Joshua mentioned that Joe found it a touch unusual, but overall he was very supportive and he performed very nicely. “I definitely recommend bringing Joe or another clown. Highly recommended.”
Ultimately, I must admit, this truly pushes us all in a new direction when it comes to what it means to bring an emotional support person to, well… anything.
Naturally, an emotional support clown might not be available in your area the next time you get fired, divorced, or default on a loan. Or perhaps the fact that you are being fired might keep you from spending $200.
But maybe, just maybe, there is an affordable velociraptor that could give you comfort, or Batman, or even one of those wind powered blow up guys that waves in the wind during car sales. The possibilities are endless now.
In fact, I showed this article to my boss and let her know that if she ever fires me, I will be sure to do something similar. I said with a half smile.
She laughed, but then it got quiet in the room, and it seemed very obvious that I wasn’t kidding. Because I wasn’t.