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NZ ad man goes from top job to clown-and-out

The clown cost him $200 and only slightly distracted the man's boss from firing him.

The clown cost him $200 and only slightly distracted the man's boss from firing him. Photo: Newshub

Just when you thought getting sacked from your job would feel like the end of the world, a New Zealand man has brought new meaning to the dreaded redundancy meeting.

In a move that could either scare your boss or alleviate his stressful task ahead, copywriter Josh Thompson took a clown to his redundancy meeting as his support person.

The act didn’t backfire. He has since been labelled a hero on social media, highly recommending the approach, and also scored a new job at an advertising agency in Australia.

On Friday. Mr Thompson, who posts on Facebook as Joshua Jack, wrote: “A while ago, I got a job. A short while later, I lost it”.

“For anyone who hasn’t been fired, what happens is they schedule a serious meeting and advise you to bring a ‘support person’.”

In anticipation of the bad news he decided he needed “the best support person available” and hired a clown.

He told local news portal Newshub the clown blew up balloons and folded them nosilily into a series of animals including a unicorn and a poodle during the meeting.

When the redundancy paperwork was handed over to the staffer the clown mimed tears, it was understood.

In an interview with a local NZ radio station Magic Talk, Joshua Jack conceded the clown was a “little distracting”.

“I thought, it’s either a promotion or worse. I thought it was best to bring in a professional — so I paid $200 and hired a clown.”

“They were getting a free service and also getting the entertainment from Joe the clown,” Jack said, but conceded the clown was a little distracting.

“It was sort of noisy, him making balloon animals, so we did have to tell him to be quiet from time-to-time.”

What did the clown think? He thought it was a “touch unusual,” but Jack said he was “overall supportive” in the meeting.

“He was $200, so basically he was, I assume, one of the best clowns in Auckland,” Jack said. “I definitely recommend bringing Joe or another clown. Highly recommended.”

His unusual support worker earned him praise on social media where he was called cheeky, inspiring and a hero.

The advertising agency that the man worked for told the newspaper that it had a policy of not commenting on individual employment matters out of respect for those involved.

Thompson seems to have landed on his feet and will start in his new role next week.

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