A Saturday Night Live writer has been suspended over a tweet she wrote about Barron Trump, as Deadline reports.
On Friday, Katie Rich, who writes for SNL's "Weekend Update" segment, penned a tweet in which she stated that Trump's 10-year-old son with wife Melania "will be this country’s first homeschool shooter." Though the tweet was deleted hours later, it sparked backlash almost immediately, with people criticizing Rich for attacking a child for his father's politics.
Rich has since issued an apology, writing on Twitter: "I sincerely apologize for the insensitive tweet. I deeply regret my actions & offensive words. It was inexcusable & I'm so sorry."
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I sincerely apologize for the insensitive tweet. I deeply regret my actions & offensive words. It was inexcusable & I'm so sorry.
— Katie Rich (@katiemaryrich) January 23, 2017
Deadline reports that the writer has been suspended from the show "indefinitely," and did not receive a credit on Saturday night's episode, which was hosted by Aziz Ansari.
On Sunday, Chelsea Clinton took to Twitter to defend Barron from attacks. Though it's unclear if she was directly responding to Rich's tweet, Clinton wrote: "Barron Trump deserves the chance every child does — to be a kid." She also added: "Standing up for every kid also means opposing @POTUS policies that hurt kids."
Barron Trump deserves the chance every child does-to be a kid. Standing up for every kid also means opposing @POTUS policies that hurt kids.
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) January 22, 2017
Jokes about children who don't have the means to defend themselves are always particularly controversial — regardless of what side of the political spectrum one falls on. Did Rich go too far for the sake of comedy, or should the nature of her job allow her to make controversial comments in service of a laugh? That's one debate that will continue to rage on indefinitely.