@TheOnion Identify the writer. Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack of a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous.
The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wallis A Horrible Word [UPDATED]
The Onion’s Twitter feed called 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis the “c” word. The backlash was swift and harsh. Warning: The offending tweet is within this post.
I know, right? Now tell your friends!
The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wallis ...
Kate Aurthur
Image by Jason Merritt / Getty Images
It wasn’t a great year for women at the Oscars, as chronicled in the BuzzFeed post “9 Sexist Things That Happened At The Oscars.” And that was a bummer.
Unfortunately, on social media there was something even more unpleasant than Seth MacFarlane’s “I Saw Your Boobs” song. This tweet by The Onion took a lot of people by surprise:
After being up for an hour, the backlash gathered, and the tweet was deleted. Was it meant to be some sort of joke reflecting on how people talk about someone like Anne Hathaway? I tweeted at The Onion for comment and emailed its editor, but have not gotten a response.
During the show, MacFarlane sexualized her as well: “To give you an idea of just how young she is, it will be 16 years until she’s too old for Clooney.”
Apparently, the presence of a 9-year-old girl experiencing a triumphant moment brings out the ugliest side of some people. Let’s hope she never finds out what The Onion wrote about her. And if she does, that she also finds out that people freaked out about it. Particularly Wendell Pierce, who played Bunk on The Wire. Take it away, Mr. Pierce:
@TheOnion I will never lose the ability to be offended and let anyone verbally abuse a child. Especially a child of my community in NOLA
@TheSteamer They have the freedom to say whatever they want and I have a right to say it's offensive. I won't stand by and watch the abuse.
UPDATE: The CEO of The Onion has apologized to Wallis and the Academy for the tweet.
Feb. 25, 2013
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
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- gokendra11 thinks The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wa... is WTF
- rpf118 thinks The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wa... is Win
- jonathannortham thinks The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wa... is LOL
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DramaticallyGiles 2 months agoShe’s a 9 year old girl with a dog purse just having fun. In what way does that make her a cunt? Bad move, Onion….and I normally like what you post, too.
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braphe 2 months ago
I love this little girl and this movie far more than any of you ever could. That being said, the Onion tweet was hilarious. Nobody in their right mind would ever think to call a 9 year old that, hence the irony of the comment, hence the humor. She has nothing to do with the joke itself. If you don’t get it, you need to GROW UP. Quvenzhané Wallis is far more mature than you’ll ever be. Stop the sanctimonious outrage and start directing your anger at some of the real injustices in this world (of which there are too many to count).
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- like this matters The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wa... and thinks it’s Fail & WTF
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olivial6 2 months agoTo all you people who go with the idea that it is “just a joke,” can we for one minute consider the child’s feelings, please? If something is meant as a joke, but is hurtful to the person at whom it is directed, there is no humor. It’s no different from kids being bullied at school. The bullies might think it’s all in good fun, but for the victim, it’s horrible. And then, suddenly, it’s the victim’s fault for not being able to take a joke. Parents out there - would you think it was funny if someone said this to your daughter? This was a horrible, disgusting thing to say to ANYONE, let alone a child. The fact that anyone would call a nine year old girl something so unspeakable is just beyond the pale. There was no call for it. There is nothing funny about it and no reason to think so.
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murexmuris 2 months ago
Yeah, this was the reason I thought it crossed the line from offensive (par of course for the onion) to inexcusable. It would have been okay—gross, but okay—if they’d said it about an adult. Adults have armor against that sort of thing; they understand that sometimes people say mean things about you, and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. If someone calls me a cunt, it hurts, but it won’t make me hate myself. But most kids don’t have that armor. They’re more impressionable, and take insults to heart more.
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beckio 2 months agoguys, guys, guys guys. You’re forgetting a big factor in this. She’s probably NEVER GOING TO KNOW what she was called. You think she’s on unmonitored internet access? Worst she’s going to hear is some stupid paper she’s never heard of called her a ‘no-no word’ because they’re jealous of how pretty and smart and talented she is. armour my ass. If her agents and parents are worth anything they’re already shielding her from absolutely anything negative.
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- merricartd thinks The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wa... is Fail
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kstap 2 months ago
I don’t think anyone is arguing that the Onion’s tweet was tasteful, but does Buzz Feed really think they should be calling people out for sexism and exposing children to the realities of sexism in the media? Considering the same site posted this: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/shauna-sand-hollywoods-most-embarassing-mom I guess Buzz Feed thinks it’s ok to single out a child for having a mom who dresses “slutty” :/ This article states it hopes Q. never sees the Onion’s post. I’m hoping Shauna Sand’s daughter never reads Buzz Feed’s post
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histrionics 2 months ago
I’m amazed at everyone defending this tweet. I “get” it, but as the subject, would she? Adults have a certain level of understanding when they’re ridiculed and insulted. As a nine year old, no amount of explaining in the world could have made me understand why I was being called such an ugly word.
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- karina9219 The Onion Called Quvenzhané Wa...
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swampdonkey 2 months ago
Are we all supposed to hold back? Who cares? Being a celebrity means random, unimportant people will say mean things about you.
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juanorfrankie 2 months agoit’s funny whoever were told to come up with this tweet and tweet it, is losing their job, or maybe the whole writer staff who came up with this joke lol
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ScaryKlown 2 months ago
I got the joke. I can understand someone not getting it or even finding it offensive (could have made the point by using “a real bitch” maybe). I don’t get taking it another step and saying the writer was deliberately trying to tear down QW or is sexist or racist. If Twitter had existed 15 years ago and the exact same thing had been written, only it ended ” … but that Haley Joel Osment is a real prick, right?” I doubt there would be the same reaction.
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crystalshinemarien 2 months agoYou are also a moron. would you also find it okay to call a child acting like a jerk a nigger? If not, and I sincerely hope for the sake of humanity not(yet I’ve heard people do so, so I won’t hold my breath), then maybe you should look up the etymology of the word cunt and then the history of the word cunt used in conjunction with the Hottentot Venus. Much like the word nigger, it went from one use to being used as a way to sexualize and degrade black women and girls. People like you make me ill.
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dandilioness 2 months agoShe’s 9. That should put her off limits. Would the reaction be the same if it were Suri Cruise or some other famous child (of famous parents) and not an unknown from Louisiana? I don’t think a 9 year old should be the center of a joke on Oscar night or called a terrible name.
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velvetknight 2 months agoThe Onion is in a tough position these days. So many actual Republicans and members of the right-wing press are saying things which just a few years ago everyone would have assumed was The Onion. This causes them to push the envelope further and further. And by definition, pushing the envelope means some stuff goes too far.
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stephaniesezz 2 months ago
whoa, big time fail. i’ve been a fan of the onion for a long time and i get what they were trying to do here but yikes! very, very uncool. if i were the kids mom, the onion would be in big trouble.
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