ONION CRITICIZED FOR JOKE ABOUT QUVENZHANE WALLIS

The Associated Press, Sunday, February 24, 2013, 10:30pm (PST)

A tweet from The Onion about the 9-year-old star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" is drawing criticism for being tasteless, even amid the constant social media satire of the Oscars.

The satirical newspaper called Quvenzhane (kwuh-VEHN'-juh-nay) Wallis an expletive intended to denigrate women. The joke was meant to parody how beloved Quvenzhane is, but many thought the language inappropriate for discussing a child.

The Onion deleted the tweet about an hour after it was posted. Still, that was enough time to create a firestorm online with many saying the remark crossed a line.

A spokeswoman for The Onion didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Not everyone thought the tweet went too far: It was retweeted more than 500 times and favorited by some 400 before being deleted.

— Jake Coyle — http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

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