In an unprecedented display of self-reclection, satirical newspaper The Onion issued an apology over a joke it made about nine-year-old best actress nominee Quvenzhané Wallis.
In a tweet during the 85th Academy Awards Sunday, those in control of The Onion's Twitter feed at the time posted what turned out to be a joke no one thought was funny.
"Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a (c--t), right? #Oscars2013"
The tweet, which was sent as the top awards were being announced, was deleted about an hour after posting amid a fury of backlash from online commentators and Onion readers, even prompting the hashtag #unfollowtheonion
Actor Wendell Pierce, known for his roles in "The Wire" and "Treme," demanded justice, calling out The Onion in his own tweets, one of which said: "Identify the writer. Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack of a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous."
Wired.com Entertainment Editor Laura Hudson said in an article that she didn't think The Onion called Wallis the c-word because they though it was true or to be offensive for the sake of being offensive.
"Rather, I believe they made a shocking, ugly comment to point out that the way the media talks about women is often quite shocking and ugly," she wrote. "It was well-intentioned. It was also wrong."
She went on to point out how the tweet addressed issues of toxicity in the language our culture uses towards women by directing it towards someone who everyone agrees doesn't deserve it.
"In the process of trying to satirize the media's cruelty toward women, they ended up accidentally perpetuating it," Hudson write. "Worse, they did it at the expense of a child, violating one of the cardinal rules of good comedy (and good humanity): Don't punch down."
By midday Monday Onion CEO Steve Hannah issued an open letter of apology to its readers and to Wallis. In it he states that "No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire." Hannah said in the letter that those responsible for the tweet would be disciplined.
"Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry," Hannah wrote.
Wallis was recently cast in a remake of the musical "Annie" produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith.
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