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
Read the Tweet above, then read the apology once again.
If your 9 year old daughter, sister, niece, aunt, best friend, grandchild or godchild were called a cunt, would Mr. Hannah’s apology be enough for you?
Oscar is now a gutter snipe because this satirical publication has allowed one of it’s employees, using The Onion label, to slander and degrade a 9 year old child, who just happens to be a 9 yeah old Black child.
I wonder what Dakota Fanning‘s “people” would say if this had been directed toward her?
Finally I am curious about something else too….I am curious about this: Why are Ms. Sandra Fluke, and other feminist crusaders, silent when Ms. Quvenzhané Wallis , age 9, is called the “C” word that rhymes with PUNT, in tweets by The Onion?
Remember when not so long ago, Rush Limbaugh called Ms. Fluke a slut, and all of America stood up in defense of Ms. Fluke. YET I hear no protest. no public outcry from the caucasian women’s movement. Can it be that a 9 year old Black American female is less of a human being than a female caucasian college student?
Wallis was born in Houma, Louisiana, the daughter of Qulyndreia, a teacher, and Venjie Wallis, Sr., a truck driver. ”Quven”, the first part of her name, combines her parents’ first names, while her mother has stated that zhané means “fairy” in Swahili.
Wallis, at age five, had to lie about her age to audition for her very first acting job—the starring role in Beasts of the Southern Wild—because the minimum age to be considered was six. She eventually beat out some 4,000 contenders for the role of Hushpuppy—the indomitable child prodigy and survivalist who lives with her dying father in the backwoods bayou squalor of Louisiana. Director Benh Zeitlin told ‘The Daily Beast’ that when he auditioned Wallis, he immediately realized he’d discovered what he was looking for, and changed the Beasts script to accommodate her strong-willed personality. Her reading ability, loud scream and the skill of burping on command impressed the director and won her the part.
The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 to rave reviews, winning the Grand Jury Prize. In May 2012, Wallis flew to France for the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival. The film received much acclaim and praised Wallis for her outstanding performance and it went on to win the prestigious Caméra d’Or award for Best first Feature Film. On January 10, 2013, at age nine, Wallis became the Academy Awards‘ all-time youngest nominee for Best Actress and third youngest ever in all categories. However, she was just six during the filming.
It’s the pint-sized star’s night to shine. But whether she takes home the Oscar or not, this little lady is definitely winning on the red carpet–and in our hearts!
Here’s a look Quvenzhané’s adorable 2013 Academy Awards ensemble…
Making history as the youngest Best Actress nominee, Quvenzhané Wallis arrived at the Dolby Theatre for the 2013 Academy Awards tonight (February 24).
The 9-year-old starlet made the red carpet her own as she strutted her stuff while posing for photographers and greeting fans.
She was incredible in the film “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” but before she heads to the Oscars, she came to meet Ellen!
Quvenzhané Wallis on Starring in Her First Movie – Super Soul Sunday – Oprah Winfrey Network
Published on Aug 26, 2012
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” director Benh Zeitlin says he always knew he would put his giant movie on the shoulders of someone tiny. Meet Quvenzhané Wallis, the young girl who brought the character Hushpuppy to life. Watch as she tells Oprah how she landed the part without any previous acting experience. Plus, find out how she ended up casting her own on-screen father.
Oscar Nominee Quvenzhané Wallis Set to Star in Annie Movie
by Brandi Fowler
Quvenzhané Wallis is having quite the year.
After receiving an Oscar nomination for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild, the youngest Best Actress nominee ever just landed the leading role in Sony Pictures/Overbrook Entertainment’s upcoming Annie.
“With the recent Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim, Quvenzhané Wallis is a true star and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star,” Sony Pictures’ President of Production Hannah Minghella said in a statement to Just Jared. “She is an extraordinary young talent with an amazing range, not only as an actress but as a singer and dancer, and we can’t wait for audiences to further discover her.”
Jada and Will’s daughter Willow was originally tapped to play the role, but dropped out of the project because she wanted to take some time off from the business.
“Willow was supposed to be doing Annie, we got Jay-Z to do the movie, got the studio to come in and Willow had such a difficult time on tour with Whip My Hair and she said, ‘You know Daddy, I don’t think so’ and I said, ‘Baby, hold up! I said no, no, no, listen, you’ll be in New York with all of your friends and Beyoncé will be there. You will be singing and dancing,’ and she looked at me and said, ‘Daddy, I have a better idea, how about I just be 12,” Will said earlier this month, according to Hiphopwired.com.
The Onion Under Fire for Calling Quvenzhane Wallis the C-Word
10:15 PM PST 2/24/2013 by Philiana Ng
On Sunday night, the satirical news organization referenced the 9-year-old Oscar nominee using a derogatory term, later deleting the tweet.
The Onion is under fire.
While the top awards were being handed out Sunday at the 85th Oscars, the satirical news organization sent out a message on its official Twitter account calling 9-year-old best actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallisthe C-word.
Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a cunt, right?#Oscars2013
The tweet, sent out around 8:42 p.m. PST, quickly made the rounds on the social media website. An hour later, the offending message was deleted from The Onion’s feed.
There was outcry, with many calling out its inappropriateness and cheap dig. Treme and The Wire actor Wendell Pierce called out The Onion, tweeting: “Identify the writer. Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack of a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous.”
Wrote Yahoo! Canada’s Greg Hughes: “The Onion made a pretty significant faux pas tonight on Quvenzhane Wallis. They deleted the tweet, but the Internet doesn’t ever forget.”
“Tonight @TheOnion behaved more like a 9yo than Quvenzhane Wallis, posting a tweet just to get attention. Well you’ve got it. Now what?” tweeted a user named Miss Lori.
Twitter user John Joneswrote: “Comedians usually stick to their guns, right or wrong. Pretty telling that the Onion pulled their tweet about young Quvenzhane Wallis…”
Elizabeth Hawksworthtweeted: “Quvenzhane Wallis is a nine year old woman of colour. Let’s let what @TheOnion did sink in and remember that Dakota Fanning never had this.”
Known for their risque satire, popular website ‘The Onion’ pushed the envelope too far Oscar Night by calling 9-year-old Oscar nominee, Quvenzhané Wallis, a “c*nt” on Twitter.
Nominated for her break-out role in “Beast of the Southern Wild,’ the future A-Lister, recently tapped to revive the role of ‘Annie,’ continues to woo hearts all over Tinsel Town. Apparently forgetting what satire means, When ‘The Onion’ attacked Wallis on Twitter, there was nothing humorous or vaguely intelligent about it.
Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a cunt, right? #Oscars2013—
The Onion (@TheOnion) February 25, 2013
Twitter instantly exploded.
The tweet has been deleted, but outraged Twitter users have taken screenshots of their feed at the time of the comment.
April @ReignOfApril: A racist/sexist/misogynistic joke about a child isn’t “OK” or “acceptable” just because The Onion is known for satire and off-color jokes.
Abiyomi Kofi @TheAngryindian: Would the @TheOnion say the same thing if the individual celebrity in question was Caucasian? This is a legitimate question.
Wendell Pierce @WendellPierce: @TheOnion Identify the writer. Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack of a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous.
Of course, we all know what the Onion was going for, but they failed miserably and this is not going away.
Our Black girls deserved to cherished, respected and protected just as much as their White counterparts. Before it’s all said and done, ‘The Onion’ will understandthis is not a game.
Jueseppi B.
