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The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster photo was posted on the American Apparel Tumblr on July 3. The image was quickly pulled after people began to protest it being put on the blog in celebration of the Fourth of July holiday. Tumblr/American Apparel

American Apparel is apologizing after a photo of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was posted to the company’s Tumblr page.

According to AA’s statement, an “international” member of the social media team was responsible for the ill-timed post.

“We deeply apologize for today’s Tumblr post of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The image was re-blogged in error by one of our international social media employees who was born after the tragedy and was unaware of the event," the company said. "We sincerely regret the insensitivity of that selection and the post has been deleted.”

AA acted swiftly following the image of the 1986 incident being posted to its Tumblr. Following a barrage of negative comments and responses to the picture being posted, the image was pulled from the site and an apology was issued.

The Challenger explosion resulted in the death of all seven of the shuttle’s crew members. The incident occurred just 73 seconds into the shuttle’s flight.

American Apparel’s latest controversy follows the company’s board voting to remove the company’s controversial CEO and founder Dov Charney. The firing was the result of an internal investigation into alleged misconduct by Charney.

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