The Onion... Apologising?!

[The pear]

I recently find out that the Onion apologised for an "Offensive joke at the Oscars", In which they said:

"Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a ****, right?"

The internet was up in arms by this seemingly offensive tweet, but the question I have is... Why should a SATIRE site, who are known for making risque jokes apologise?

The joke in this, just to clarify, is that the joke is that she's nine, and is quite obviously not a ****, as she hasn't had the chance to grow up to become one, and is at this point in her life just a sweetheart nine year old, who also happened to gain fame after her role in "Beasts of the Southern wild".

I may be more annoyed about this for the sheer fact that I quite enjoy satire and risque comedy, including more dark humour, and see no reason why The Onion should apologise for a joke just because some people were too stupid to understand the joke and take it in humour, and instead get all up in arms and pissed.

So, my question is, what are your opinions on this whole scenario, should The Onion have apologised? Or are you instead also of the opinion that comedy is comedy, and people need to learn to be able to deal with jokes be them risque or no?

Interested to hear the opinions on this one, and see if anyone else was butthurt by this 😛

 

[C.A.B.]

Had the Onion said that about an adult like Michele Obama, I think it would be fine and it would have been funny, no apology necessary. But let's leave kids out of the adult stuff. She's just a kid, for God's sake. You know how this will follow her all through school and growing up? Its just lowbrow and base and thoughtless... it's definitely not funny or satire.

 

[The pear]

Had the Onion said that about an adult like Michele Obama, I think it would be fine and it would have been funny, no apology necessary. But let's leave kids out of the adult stuff. She's just a kid, for God's sake. You know how this will follow her all through school and growing up? Its just lowbrow and base and thoughtless... it's definitely not funny or satire.

This is a site known for dark comedy, who made a joke about 9/11 2 weeks after the incident. I highly doubt the kid would have actually taken it to heart, the more problem with the apology was that they apologised to the people complaining, there was no direct complaint from the parents, or the kid. They apologised to anybody they offended. I could fully understand if the kid was upset, but she made no obligation to being offended, I highly doubt she would have even got it!

The joke wouldn't have made any sense if it was about an adult, like Michelle Obama, the joke is that she's 9, she has no way of being "Kind of a ****", as she is just a sweetheart 9 year old. So, the joke, while being very risque, makes sense if you look at the underlying meaning.

 

[C.A.B.]

I highly doubt the kid would have actually taken it to heart

Its a little too late to speculate on that now, isn't it?

 

[WriterOfSin]

Saying someone is 'a bit of a ****' doesn't strike me as a joke, and I'm a fan of Frankie Boyle.

 

[The pear]

Saying someone is 'a bit of a ****' doesn't strike me as a joke, and I'm a fan of Frankie Boyle.

Well, I've explained the joke several times, and if you understand the way I've explained it, you'll understand why I found it humorous 😛

 

[C.A.B.]

Actually, to their credit, I think The Onion itself, has a better explanation of the so-called "joke" :

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

http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-onion-apologizes,31434/

 

[The pear]

Actually, to their credit, I think The Onion itself, has a better explanation of the so-called "joke" :

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

http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-onion-apologizes,31434/

Naaaa, that's their "Oh shit we offended people, so we'll act humble in our apology" explanation.

 

[Thatsecretchord]

Glaring differences in trans-Atlantic sense of him ours here me thinks! I giggled.

 

[C.A.B.]

Glaring differences in trans-Atlantic sense of him ours here me thinks! I giggled.

Granted. Culturally, the expletive "****" has a little more grevious gravitas in the States... but, I think it is the involvment of a 9 year old little girl with no say in the matter that is the issue, not the attempt at low-brow humor for the mouth-breathers. Imagine if you will, the genius behind such a tweet first asking permission of her parents, "Hello, i would like to call your 9 year old daughter a **** on world-wide media for giggles at her expense... do you think that would okay with you?" Perhaps Hollywood-type parents might go along with it, I couldn't say for sure these days.

But if it were me. The fun-loving jokester would be picking up his scattered teeth. Now that would be funny.

 

[knicks255]

Yeah, I'd chalk it up to the word "****" carrying alot more weight in the USA. CAB brought it up, and he makes a good point, it's way worse than, say, "fuck" over here.

(Also I'm out of your sig now...I don't know whether to be relieved or ashamed.)