Memecoin project Normie, based on Coinbase’s native blockchain Base, announced the termination of an intern following the release of an offensive video on its official X account. The video, captioned "Something is cooking in the Normie Labs," was widely criticized for its distasteful content.

In a statement, the Normie team acknowledged the misstep, saying, "After careful consideration and internal reflection, we have decided to remove our last video. The intern that posted it has been fired. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by the content. We are committed to ensuring that this does not happen again."

The controversial promotional video, released on June 10, depicted a blue-skinned cartoon chef with heavily exaggerated full lips, dancing to a cooking tune. This portrayal was met with backlash from the crypto community. One user commented, "How is this the intern’s fault? Did he make and post the whole video himself? Did your team not approve it? Fire whoever should’ve been helping the intern and allowed that to happen."

Normie attempted to clarify the video's intended message, explaining it was meant to convey that "there is always a way out, even when everything is coming at you, and that positive change begins with oneself." They emphasized that there was no intention to trivialize sensitive topics.

This incident follows a difficult period for Normie, which experienced a smart contract exploit last month. Hackers managed to steal 225 Ether (ETH), approximately $881,686, causing a $41.7 million plunge in the token’s market capitalization within three hours. In response, Normie accepted an offer from the hacker to return 90% of the stolen NORMIE tokens, on the condition that the remaining funds and $2.3 million from its development wallet would be used to launch a new token to reimburse NORMIE holders.

On June 7, Normie reported recovering 192 ETH from the incident and completed the token launch at a new address. Despite these efforts, the price of the NORMIE token has plummeted by 96% since the exploit.

Since April 1, the Ethereum network has seen the launch of 372,642 new tokens, with 88% of these launched on Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain Base. Normie's recent challenges highlight the ongoing volatility and risks within the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape.