'Quvenzhané Wallis is a c***, right?' Backlash at tweet about the NINE-YEAR-OLD Oscar-nominated actress

'Quvenzhané Wallis is a c***, right?' Backlash at tweet about the NINE-YEAR-OLD Oscar-nominated actress

The only four-lettered word starting with 'C' that's appropriate here is 'CUTE'

We had some pretty strong reactions to the celebs at this year's Oscars . Anne Hathaway: too gushy (not to mention nippy) . Renee Zellweger: dazed and confused . K-Stew on crutches : SUCH an attention seeker.

But when young Quvenzhané Wallis popped up on the red carpet, we couldn't help but let out a little 'aww' because the youngest ever Best Actress nominee looked incredible cute, TOY DOG BAG and all.

But it seems that not everyone shared our sentiments. In fact, some people just thought she was a c***. Yes, a c***. We know you know what we mean.

By 'some people' we mean the guys over at snarky news satire website The Onion, who made the comment on their Twitter feed.

They wrote: "Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a c***, right?"

The offending tweet

The tweet stayed up for an hour before it was taken down - more than enough time for Twitter to react angrily.

Occupy Wall Street tweeted: Apologize for your chauvinist unfunny joke about 9 yr old Quvenzhané Wallis. No women should be called that especially a child!"

Wendell Pierce, an actor who was apparently in The Wire, added: "Identify the writer. Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack of a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous."

Another user wrote: "Dear @TheOnion Please fire the person/people who thought it was cool to call Quvenzhané Wallis such a despicable, disrespectful word. Now."

Anne Hathaway has got some MAJOR handbag envy

The CEO of The Onion, Steve Hannah, later apologised for the comment on Facebook, calling it "crude and offensive".

He offered a personal apology to young Quvenzhané herself (who we hope has a parental lock on her smartphone so that she hasn't seen the tweet), saying: "Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry."

Unbelievably, online wasn't the only place the nine-year-old actress took a bashing - Oscars host Seth MacFarlane also made a joke at her expense, saying: "To give you an idea of just how young she is, it will be 16 years until she's too old for Clooney."

Not cool, guys. Not cool.

Read the full apology to Quvenzhané Wallis from The Onion below...

Feb. 25, 2013

Dear Readers,

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 offensiveâ€"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

CEO

The Onion