Satirical website The Onion is being slammed for posting an offensive tweet about 9-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis last night.
The tweet, sent out during Sunday’s broadcast of the Academy Awards, read: “Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a c*nt, right?”
The tweet was deleted an hour later, but not before receiving over 500 retweets and causing a Twitter uproar. The Wire star Wendell Pierce was among those who were offended. He demanded that the site identify the writer of the tweet so that he can “defend that abhorrent verbal attack of a child.
“You call it humor, I call it horrendous,” added Pierce.
As of today, the site has not offered an apology or made mention of the offending tweet.
Granted, The Onion is not CNN, and is generally known for its brutal stabs at celebrity culture. Last night the site also took shots at actress Jennifer Lawrence and director Kathryn Bigelow, but the tweet about Wallis fell way short of funny considering it put the c-word in the same sentence as a 9-year-old girl. Do you think the site went too far? And should children be exempt from adult humor? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
UPDATE: The site has posted a public apology to Wallis. “Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry,” said CEO Steve Hannah in a Facebook post.