The Onion Apologizes for ‘Crude’ Quvenzhane Wallis Tweet
The Onion has apologized for an incendiary tweet about Beasts of the Southern Wild star Quvenzhané Wallis during last night’s Academy Awards, with CEO Steve Hannah offering a “personal apology” on Facebook to the nine-year-old actress.
“It was crude and offensive – not to mention inconsistent with The Onion‘s commitment to parody and satire, however biting,” Hannah wrote. “No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire.” The tweet, since deleted, read, “Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a c***, right? #Oscars2013.”
Oscars 2013 and Seth MacFarlane: Stupid Is as Stupid Does
Hannah noted the post was removed within an hour and that those responsible will be disciplined. He also said the publication has introduced “new and tighter Twitter procedures to ensure that this kind of mistake does not occur again.”
Wallis was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, but lost last night to Jennifer Lawrence of Silver Linings Playbook. She’s also replacing Willow Smith in the lead role of a new adaptation of Annie, produced by Will Smith and Jay-Z and planned for a 2014 holiday release.