The satirical news organization slams the "senseless, humorless comment," and says of the 9-year-old nominee: "Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better."
The Onion has apologized to Quvenzhane Wallis for a message on its official Twitter account referencing the 9-year-old best actress Oscar nominee with a derogatory term.
The offending post, which prompted outrage across the Twitterverse, was posted Sunday night and removed after about an hour. It read: "Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhane Wallis is kind of a [c-word], right?"
On Monday, Onion CEO Steve Hannah issued a statement apologizing to the Beasts of the Southern Wild star. Hannah's message, below:
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
