Watch Live: Obama’s Counterterrorism Speech

Watch Today’s BlazeCast With Your Questions, Comments & Live Chat!

Entertainment

Satire Site The Onion Issues Apology for Offensive Tweet Calling 9-Year-Old Best Actress Nominee a ‘C**t’

Feb. 25, 2013 12:15pm

The Onion is a parody web site — one that regularly attracts attention for its over-the-top and fictitious headlines and faux news stories. While the outlet will occasionally offend, it’s not everyday that it steps so far over the line that a public apology is warranted. However, a message that was circulated on The Onion’s official Twitter feed on Sunday has the company’s CEO, Steve Hannah, issuing an official redress.

During the Academy Awards, the satirical web site sent a message that quickly raised eyebrows — and outrage. Commenting about Quvenzhané Wallis, the 9-year-old star of “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” the tweet read, “Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a c**t, right? #Oscars2013.”

The Onion Issues Apology for Offensive Tweet Calling Actress Quvenzhané Wallis the C Word

Photo Credit: Twitter/E!

The use of the c-word to describe a child was quickly derided in media and across social media. On Monday morning, Hannah took to The Onion’s official Facebook page to issue a public apology for the tweet.

“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,” he wrote. “It was crude and offensive — not to mention inconsistent with The Onion’s commitment to parody and satire, however biting.”

The Onion Issues Apology for Offensive Tweet Calling Actress Quvenzhané Wallis the C Word

Actress Quvenzhané Wallis arrives at the Oscars held at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California. Credit: Getty Images

The CEO went on to say that no one should be forced to be labeled with such a “senseless, humorless” title. Hannah said that the message was removed within an hour of its publication and that new Twitter policies will be implemented to ensure that an incident like this doesn’t happen again. The Onion is also planning to discipline those individuals involved.

“Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry,” he continued.

Wallis was the youngest woman ever to be nominated for the Best Actress category.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Comments (49)

  • COFemale
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 3:39pm

    The problem here is once you ring that bell, it can’t be un-rung, no matter how many times you apologize.

    Discipline should be “You’re fired”. I am sure they will get a little slap on the wrist and remain employed. That is the Liberal way.

    Report this comment

    COFemale  
    • MadinIllinois
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 6:50pm

      So completely un-necessary – she is a beautiful, young lady – and – NO woman, regardless of age should ever be called such a foul name!!

      Report this comment

      MadinIllinois  
    • RTFM
      Posted on February 26, 2013 at 8:48am

      The guy making all of the apologies is prob. the one who sent the tweet in the first place. He’s sorry of the backlash it created.

      Report this comment

      RTFM  
  • DontDoubtMyDough
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 3:16pm

    Hey Zorro! Do you care that a dumb@$$ gave a loaded weapon to a mentally ill person and got himself killed or does that offend you ( I am guessing it does)? You F—-ing hypocrite!

    Report this comment

    DontDoubtMyDough  
  • rolliby
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:58pm

    “Wallis was the youngest woman ever to be nominated for the Best Actress category.”

    I thought the “outrage” was about insulting a KID. Anyway, that statement was uncalled for, but illustrative of the lack of respect and moral decency younger generations accept as “normal”.

    Report this comment

    rolliby  
  • Xanderson
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:40pm

    I sure hope this little girl does not have a Twitter account. It would be so disgusting to have to answer this question from a kid on the greatest night of her life…”Hey Mom, so many people are tweeting about me tonight!! What’s a c^#(? I think her dad should go kick somebody’s a$$.

    Report this comment

    Xanderson  
  • BostonHarold
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:34pm

    The usually amusing Onion with it’s equal opportunity satire jumped the shark on this one. They just lost their mojo. She’s a cute kid who was sporting a puppy purse fer Godsake…

    Report this comment

    BostonHarold  
  • toto
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:47pm

    This is how a society displays it’s utter contempt for children under the color of liberal ideals. Way to go leftists, you are destroying children and healthy childhoods in America, because you insist on the freedom to be such selfish b@stards. The founders insisted that freedom would be lost if people were not moral and self disciplined. We now have a society led by egotists, narcissists, with no moral compass. We may have crossed the tipping point the communists said would happen from within.

    Report this comment

    toto  
  • matt_c
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:14pm

    I didn’t know Bill Maher wrote the tweets for The Onion.

    Report this comment

    matt_c  
  • jackact
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:05pm

    Meanwhile Seth McFarlane is a big in-the-closet FA**OT!

    Report this comment

    jackact  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:31pm

      Actually he’s heterosexual. Just because he advocates for “gay rights” doesn’t make him gay.

      And please, you kind of post really doesn’t help anybody.

      Report this comment

      GhostOfJefferson  
    • Clownzilla
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:50pm

      @Ghost

      No, the whole idea of being a closeted gay person is to be gay without the world knowing it. There is no way you can prove he is a heterosexual. Not that I care but if I were a betting man then I would place my money on him being gay.

      Report this comment

      Clownzilla  
    • LakeHartwellSailor
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:06pm

      You know Jackact….it is kind of ironic that you post something like that on this story.

      Report this comment

      LakeHartwellSailor  
    • HellboundandDown
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:23pm

      weird how wrong-wingers spend soooooo much time thinking about men having sex with each other…ho ho!

      Report this comment

      HellboundandDown  
    • BostonHarold
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:26pm

      Douche nozzle…yes…****…no.

      Report this comment

      BostonHarold  
  • NigelTufnel
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:03pm

    Sad but true. Millions of young voters put too much truth into what satiracle performers say. Colbert and Stewart, while funny, back up their views with nothing but jokes and bad taste. But impressionable young viewers often think such things like, ” oh yeah I heard that about Jews….sounds like good foreign policy to me….you know….screw Israel.” I like the Onion. I like how they’ve tricked novice news journalists into believing things that are completely false. It’s a great way to remind everyone to do their own investigation and thinking. This however was completely uncalled for and something that an apology does not make up for. Hopefully advertisers pull the plug.

    Report this comment

    NigelTufnel  
  • Wool-Free Vision
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:59pm

    Please note that the “apology” was a much more vicious slam of the actress than the original tweet was. The Onion wins again.

    In case you missed it: “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,” he wrote. “It was crude and offensive — not to mention inconsistent with The Onion’s commitment to parody and satire, however biting.”

    Notice that he pointed out that it was inconsistent with their commitment to parody and satire, indicating that the comment was not satirical. Which means, of course, that he is saying that she really is what the tweet said she was.

    The Onion 1
    Hollywood 0

    Report this comment

    Wool-Free Vision  
  • The_Almighty_Creestof
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:54pm

    She tweeted back “Academy Awards? I’d rather be throwing chairs in Chicago!”

    Report this comment

    The_Almighty_Creestof  
  • Alorian
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:46pm

    Seriously folks? It’s the Onion.
    The Onion.

    Is that sinking in yet?

    The. Onion.

    Report this comment

    Alorian  
    • chips1
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:51pm

      The rules of liberals: “Say anything you want, because, tomorrow you can appologize”.

      Report this comment

      chips1  
    • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:59pm

      My favorite article they wrote was:
      “The Pope says Screw the Weak” they had almost 2000 years to inherit the earth and they haven’t done squat, it’s time to just say, Screw em.

      Report this comment

      Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • zorro
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:03pm

      Yeah but personally, I think this was over the line. Do I care, really? Nope.

      Report this comment

      zorro  
  • SciPro
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:34pm

    Budrow … Whatever are you talking about? … Are you setting yourself up to be a judge over people who are simply trying to bring forth news? .. Give your head a shake … If you can do better, I’m waiting ON you .. otherwise put your brain in gear before penning your objections and critiques .. please!

    Report this comment

    SciPro  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:33pm

    .
    That was wrong on all levels…..

    Report this comment

    SpankDaMonkey  
  • Rowgue
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:31pm

    They wouldn’t have apologized had it been a little white girl.

    Report this comment

    Rowgue  
    • zorro
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:35pm

      They didn’t say this about the white little girls at the Oscars during years past, either. So if you want to make it racial, we can make it racial. It wasn’t. It was a stupid comment, it went too far, and now it’s over.

      Report this comment

      zorro  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:40pm

      The comment may not have been racial, but your little rant doesn’t change the fact that they would not have apologized for it had it been a white kid. There is only one reason they felt pressured to apologize and it isn’t because she was 9.

      Report this comment

      Rowgue  
    • zorro
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 1:02pm

      You don’t know if they would or would not have, period. You’re assuming, which you have every right to. We often tell liberals they have a right to sound as stupid as they’d like. The same is true for conservatives. So carry on with your bad self.

      Report this comment

      zorro  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on February 26, 2013 at 12:37pm

      Just because you’re assuming something, doesn’t make it stupid or even likely to be incorrect. Assumptions that are stupid are ones based on nothing. My assumption is based on decades of established behavior by the media.

      You can play e-tough guy and call me all the names you’d like. I find it quite humorous considering the thrust of your response is you think my comment was uncivilized and childish though.

      Report this comment

      Rowgue  
    • woobies22
      Posted on February 27, 2013 at 12:20am

      I think they would have apologized to a little white girl… It does’nt matter what color children are, no child should be called such a filthy name. I think that the fact that you are making this into a racial issue, just proves that you yourself are racist.

      Report this comment

      woobies22  
  • huey6367
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:30pm

    She’s 9. Have you no sense of class? On the other hand – welcome to back stabbing Hollywood!! How do you pronounce her name?

    Report this comment

    huey6367  
  • GhostOfJefferson
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:27pm

    “use of the c-word”

    The “c-word”? What, are we all 5 years old now? When did it become in vogue to write articles as if one’s target audience were mentally unbalanced children?

    “Wallis was the youngest woman ever to be nominated for the Best Actress category.”

    She’s not a woman, she’s a girl. A woman, on planet earth, is an adult female of the human race.

    Report this comment

    GhostOfJefferson  
  • pandora665
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:26pm

    It was a disgusting tweet, calling a young girl a c&$) is not acceptable. In this case sorry is not adequate.

    Report this comment

    pandora665  
    • Xylliab_of_the_Znarghh
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 3:43pm

      It’s inappropriate in this case since Quvenzhané Wallis seems like a nice kid, but when I think back to when I was a nine-year old boy, I have to say that some of them were. Yeah, there were a few of then for whom it would be an entirely apt description.

      Report this comment

      Xylliab_of_the_Znarghh  
  • sta
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:26pm

    Gotta give kudos for doing the right thing. Thank you Onion.

    Report this comment

    sta  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:26pm

    ” I offer my personal apology to Quvenzhané Wallis” OK great. Now her mother needs to apologize for naming her Quvenzhané. How do you even pronounce that?

    Report this comment

    Gonzo  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:45pm

      Seriously. I’m fairly certain people who name their kids like this don’t quite get that the rest of us consider them (the parents) to be living, breathing jokes.

      Report this comment

      GhostOfJefferson  
    • Mudd
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:17pm

      I was hooked on quvenzhane for a while back in the ’70s.

      Report this comment

      Mudd  
    • BostonHarold
      Posted on February 25, 2013 at 2:29pm

      Militant black radical Kwanzaa celebrating libs I’m sure…

      Report this comment

      BostonHarold  
  • Budrow
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:24pm

    Still waiting for apologies from the The Blaze over their repeated inept and mis-worded sensationalizing headlines and poor use of grammar on a regular basis. Where did the writers on The Blaze get their educations – or do they have educations?

    Report this comment

    Budrow  
  • EQUALIZER
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:19pm

    Onions stink,right?

    Report this comment

    EQUALIZER  
  • AvengerK
    Posted on February 25, 2013 at 12:18pm

    Just another example of the “what difference does it make?” attitude of the left.

    Report this comment

    AvengerK  

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love