Joel Burns probably isn't the only person in Fort Worth irritated that The Weather Channel's app shows pictures of Dallas when it delivers forecasts for Cowtown. But the soon-to-be-former Fort Worth City Councilman, whose 2010 "It Gets Better" speech went viral, is the only one to merit a bitchy response on Twitter.
Burns fired the first shot this morning, warning his 8,900 followers that he's on the verge of abandoning the app:
Dear @weatherchannel I SWEAR I'm deleting your aggravating app if you don't STOP SHOWING DALLAS pics for Fort Worth pic.twitter.com/Rx36gZoI2K
— Councilm. Joel Burns (@JoelBurns) May 12, 2014
Rather than ignore Burns or, better yet, address his concerns, The Weather Channel's soon-to-be-former social media rep opted for the cheap shot:
@JoelBurns Sorry to see you go. Good luck on ending bullying.
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) May 12, 2014
Burns, who has spent the morning retweeting people making the point that The Weather Channel's reply sure was dickish, also took a moment to challenge the station to donate $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBT youth.
The Weather Channel hasn't ponied up the cash, but it has issued an apology.
.@JoelBurns we apologize for our reply this morning. Our response was inappropriate & we're taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) May 12, 2014
Send your story tips to the author, Eric Nicholson.