Nicolette Van Dam upsets Colombia with tweet, resigns from UNICEF post

Dutch actress Nicolette Van Dam is the latest to learn a hard lesson about Twitter math: national pride + attempts at humor = immediate backlash.

Van Dam, who was until very recently a UNICEF ambassador advocating equality and human rights around the world, got swept up in World Cup fever and offered up the following anti-Colombia tweet:

That translates to "Colombian Wall," and it's a really bad Photoshop takeoff on the refs' "vanishing spray." As anyone who's ever heard of "Scarface," "Miami Vice," or the drug known as "cocaine" knows, Colombia has a bit of a rep as a producer/distributor of cocaine.

[Photos: Funniest World Cup memes, artwork and tweets]

Still, the idea of Colombian players Falcao Garcia and James Rodriguez on their knees snorting a line of vanishing spray didn't exactly sit well with Colombia, and the nation's UNICEF branch protested.

Van Dam offered an apology via Twitter:

But the damage was done. Van Dam has reportedly resigned her UNICEF ambassadorship, according to UNICEF Colombia.

The Netherlands, meanwhile, having won its first two matches (neither of which was against Colombia), next plays Chile on Monday. Van Dam will likely take a bit more care in tweeting messages of support.

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