In March 2011, Sulkin caused a controversy by posting the following joke on Twitter: "If you wanna feel better about this earthquake in Japan, google 'Pearl Harbor death toll.'" Sulkin made the comment one day after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which killed over 10,000 people in Japan. The following day, Sulkin deleted the joke and apologized, saying the post was insensitive and that he had not realized the extent and severity of the disaster.