Satirical news website The Onion came under fire after branding 9-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis as a “c***” on Twitter.
The Onion said in a post during last night’s Oscars ceremony: “Everybody else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a c*** right?”
The tweet to The Onion’s millions of followers sparked outrage and was deleted around an hour later.
The post was met with a storm of complaints and demands for an apology from The Onion across social media.
Actor Wendell Pierce, who stars in Treme, described the tweet as an “abhorrent verbal attack of a child”, while another critic called for the writer behind the post to get “exactly what they deserve. From both the law and the street”.
Fans of the spoof website were among those expressing their distaste and disappointment at its use of the expletive in reference to Quvenzhané Wallis.
The Onion website features satirical articles based on national and international news. Its Twitter account has more than 4.5 million followers.
Quvenzhané Wallis was also at the heart of a second Twitter spat during the ceremony, after she was referred to as “Little Q” in coverage, prompting accusations of racism.
The Onion came under fire after posting vulgar tweet about 9-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis
Quvenzhane Wallis, the youngest Oscar nominee, has been confirmed for the title role in the new Annie film.
Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, will star in the remake, which is being executive produced by Jay-Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Originally Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s daughter, 12-year-old Willow, was due to play the lead character.
Willow Smith stood down from the role saying that she wanted to concentrate on enjoying her childhood.
Annie is due to be released in late 2014 and is based on the stage play about an orphan girl trying to find her family.
The original musical was released as a film in 1982 and featured the song Tomorrow.
This new version will be set in modern day New York with a selection of new songs added and some old ones removed.
Actress and writer Emma Thompson has been working on the screenplay.
Speaking to Newsbeat last year, Emma Thompson confirmed that Tomorrow would be included in the updated film.
Quvenzhane Wallis, the youngest Oscar nominee, has been confirmed for the title role in the new Annie film
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Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest person in history to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and at just 9 years old she knows how to liven up an Academy event.
Quvenzhané Wallis larked about and was the centre of attention at the 85th Academy Awards Nominations Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton on Monday.
Looking impeccable in a lilac party dress, and with one of her trademark puppy purses, the Beasts Of The Southern Wild star couldn’t fail to cause a stir as she joked around.
Uninhibited by the A-listers sharing the room, she fooled around and made everyone smile.
At the age of 5, Quvenzhané Wallis lied about her age to audition for her very first acting job, the starring role in Beasts Of The Southern Wild – the minimum age for consideration was six.
Quvenzhané Wallis won the part, beating 4,000 contenders for the role of Hushpuppy.
Director Benh Zeitlin said that when he auditioned Quvenzhané Wallis, he immediately realized he’d discovered what he was looking for, and changed the script to accommodate her large personality.
The child star flew to France for the premiere of Beasts Of The Southern Wild at the Cannes Film Festival in May last year, where it won the prestigious Caméra d’Or award for Best first Feature Film.
Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest person in history to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and at just 9 years old she knows how to liven up an Academy event
Last week Quvenzhané Wallis appeared on the Jay Leno show, and won over audiences as she chatted confidently about whom she hopes to meet at the Oscars.
“Well, it’s going to be a long list,” she declared, before naming Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj and Beyonce on her wish list.
When Jay Leno asked who she’d be taking as a date to the Oscars, Quvenzhané Wallis proudly lifted up her puppy purse saying: “This and my mom.”
Quvenzhané Wallis, who plays brave youngster Hushpuppy in the independent film, recently revealed to Vogue‘s that although her favorite color is pink, she has no idea what she’ll actually be wearing on the red carpet come February 24.
But she will be steering clear of long dresses: “I might step on it, or trip on it and I don’t want to humiliate myself.”
When asked whether she enjoyed herself at a party that was held in her honor recently, Quvenzhané Wallis smiled, and said: “Yes, I just love partying.”
Quvenzhané Wallis is up against Jennifer Lawrence, Naomi Watts, Jessica Chastain and Emmanuelle Riva, who at 85-years-old, is the oldest Best Actress Oscar nominee.
Since her breakout role, Quvenzhané Wallis has been cast in the upcoming movie Twelve Years a Slave, which also stars Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt, and Michael Fassbender.
Quvenzhané Wallis was born in Houma, Louisiana. Her mother, Qulyndreia, is a school teacher, and her father, Venjie, is 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.
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