The Onion Apologizes for Calling 9-Year-Old Quvenzhané Wallis the C-Word in Oscar Night Tweet

CEO for the satirical website says the company is taking "immediate steps to discipline those individuals responsible"

By Alyssa Toomey Feb 25, 2013 6:12 PMTags
Quvenzhane Wallis, Oscars 2013Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The Onion has issued an apology.  

After the popular satirical website dug itself into an electronic hole following a tweet in which they called 9-year-old Beasts of the Southern Wild star and Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis the C-word on Twitter, the website's CEO has now posted a formal apology on the company's Facebook page.

"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," CEO Steve Hannah wrote in a statement. 

"No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire," Hannah continued. "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," he apologized. 

The offensive tweet immediately sparked outrage in the Twitterverse, as many celebs and fans jumped to the young star's defense. 

Although it was deleted shortly after, a number of websites captured the ill-mannered tweet, causing the damning evidence to circulate the internet.

The lesson we've learned time and time again? Be careful what you tweet. Just ask Anthony Weiner.