Twitter went ballistic last night during the Oscars when satire site The Onion tweeted a "joke" about 9-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis that used some pretty shocking language:
“Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a ****, right? #Oscars2013”
The tweet has since been deleted from The Onion's feed, but not before it was retweeted hundreds of times.
Now many calling for "The Onion" to apologize, and others are urging their followers to #UnFollowTheOnion.
Referring To Precious 9yr Old Quvenzhane Wallis As The 'C-Word' Is Both Unfortunate & Unacceptable. Shame On @theonion! #UnfollowTheOnion RT
— Jackée Harry (@JackeeHarry) February 25, 2013
Not that they would care, but I have no plans of ever following @theonion for their HORRIFIC tweet about a nine year old Oscar nominee.
— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) February 25, 2013
@theonion is free to hide behind a brand &call a lil' girl a C-NT.It'scrass&they are punks who would never say it about Spielburg's kids.
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) February 25, 2013
Look, I get comedy. I get satire. But what @theonion said about a 9-year-old girl nominated for an Oscar is atrocious.
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) February 25, 2013
And who are the 417 fools who retweeted @theonion's shameful comment about Quvenzhane, and the 306 that favorited it? Talk about idiots!
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) February 25, 2013
HLN's own Richelle Carey took to Twitter to sound off, as well:
Anyone who defends calling a 9-year old the c-word by calling it satire, using the Constitution, or whatever works for you..please spare me.
— RICHELLE CAREY (@RichelleCarey) February 25, 2013
The questionable humor around Quvenzhané Wallis wasn't limited to the Twitterverse, however. Seth MacFarlane raised a few eyebrows when he joked, "To give you an idea of how young [Wallis] is, it'll be 16 years before she's too young for Clooney."
Not everyone is furious. There has been a smattering of support for The Onion's particular brand of humor:
The Onion tweet wasn't about Wallis. It was about you. And me. And the way we say HORRIBLE things, publicly, casually, about "celebrities."
— Rex Parker (@rexparker) February 25, 2013
The Onion joke is a joke ABOUT Oscar bitchiness, not about Quvenzhané Wallis. Nobody actually thinks a 9 year old is a ****. That's the joke
-- Matt Marks (@mattmarks) February 25, 2013
There is no response yet from the Wallis family.
The young star was up for best actress for her role as Hushpuppy in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and is the youngest Oscar nominee in the history of the Academy. That award ultimately went to Jennifer Lawrence.
Up next for Wallis: She'll play the role of Annie in a film being produced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jay-Z. Watch for it in theaters next year.
UPDATE -- The Onion has now apologized:
Dear Readers,
On behalf of The Onion, I offer my personal apology to Quvenzhané Wallis and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the tweet that was circulated last night during the Oscars. It was crude and offensive—not to mention inconsistent with The Onion’s commitment to parody and satire, however biting.
No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire.
The tweet was taken down within an hour of publication. We have instituted new and tighter Twitter procedures to ensure that this kind of mistake does not occur again.
In addition, we are taking immediate steps to discipline those individuals responsible.
Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry.
Sincerely,
Steve Hannah
CEO
The Onion
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