Satirical paper 'The Onion' apologies for tweet about child actor Quvenzhané Wallis The Onion has apologised after an offensive tweet about Beasts of the Southern Wild star Quvenzhané Wallis, seen arriving at the Oscars, caused a backlash. THE Onion has apologised for calling the nine-year-old star Beasts of the Southern Wild star a vulgar and offensive name on Twitter. The satirical newspaper on Sunday referred Quvenzhane Wallis as the c-word. The Onion was lambasted overnight, and asked for forgiveness. CEO Steve Hannah wrote: "It was crude and offensive - not to mention inconsistent with The Onion's commitment to parody and satire, however biting." The Onion tweeted the post during the ceremony: "'Everybody else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a **** right?" Hannah said the offensive tweet was taken down in an hour and the newspaper has "instituted new and tighter Twitter procedures" to ensure it will not happen again. He said those responsible would be disciplined. Said Hannah: "Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry. The joke was meant to parody how beloved the bubbly actress is, but many thought the language inappropriate, especially 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 in the Twitterverse, with many saying the remark crossed a line. Best Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis speaks to reporters on the red carpet as she arrives at the Oscars. Many users managed to get screen shots of the offending message and shared their outrage. The Onion was tasteless for that tweet. It's never okay to use that word towards anyone, especially someone's child," one user wrote. Calling a 9-year-old child a c-word in one of the biggest nights of her life was going too far even for the onion. Classless," another echoed. @TheOnion Unfollowing you. Your tweet about a 9-yr-old child was stunningly inappropriate. That's not satire or a joke. That's sick. Quvenzhane Wallis poses with Oscar-winner Halle Berry on the red carpet as they arrive at the 85th Academy Awards. Actor Wendell Pierce, who stars in Treme, described the tweet as an "abhorrent verbal attack of a child." Blogger Elizabeth Hawskworth suggested there was a racist undertone, tweeting: "Quvenzhané 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. Some people called for The Onion to apologise. An apology is due to Miss Wallis. Deleting the tweet does not make it go away. Would The Onion let this die if a celeb had said it? Quvenzhane Wallis grabs a snack as she stays up past her bedtime at the Oscars. 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 some 400 tagged it as favourite before being deleted. The Onion website features satirical articles based on national and international news. Its Twitter account has more than 4.5 million followers. Meanwhile Kelly Osbourne was slammed for failing to refer to the young actress by her real name. The Beasts of the Southern Wild star hits the dance floor at the Governors Ball at Hollywood & Highland Centre after the ceremony. Osbourne, an E! Fashion Police co-star called the youngster 'Little Q' in coverage, prompting accusations of racism. One disgusted viewer posted: "It is rude, unprofessional and borderline racist to not even try to pronounce her name properly." Another tweeted: "Not learning her name is racist. Calling her Annie is racist. Saying she says her name the best is racist.