If you have been listening to Serial, you know the importance of a certain branch of Best Buy.
If you are unfamiliar with the hugely popular series, it is a weekly podcast that has been exploring the 1998 murder of Baltimore teenager Hae Min Lee, and the subsequent trial and conviction of Hae's former boyfriend Adnan Syed.
Host Sarah Koenig has been revisiting the case, and examining some of the inconsistencies in the various accounts of the day of the murder. The existence or non-existence of a payphone in the parking lot of a Best Buy has become one of the story's major questions.
Earlier this week, Best Buy's Twitter account referenced their role in the show. In a now deleted post, the retailing giant tweeted "We have everything you need. Unless you need a payphone. #Serial"
Given that it was a reference to a real-life murder case as well as to a popular podcast, the retailer was quickly accused of being insensitive. It was not long before the retailer deleted the tweet and issued an apology:
We deeply apologize for our earlier tweet about Serial. It lacked good judgment and doesn’t reflect the values of our company. We are sorry.
— Best Buy (@BestBuy) December 11, 2014
Not everybody agreed that the tweet was in ill-taste, however:
.@BestBuy isn't the one that turned a real life murder into weekly entertainment, and acknowledging their part in a popular podcast is smart
— S. Alexander Smith (@SAlexanderPhD) December 11, 2014
The last episode of Serial is expected to be released next week.
