Comedienne and author Chelsea Handler took over Huffington Post’s Twitter account, and live-tweeted the happenings of the 2014 Academy Awards. Although Handler’s brand of comedy has always bordered on edgy, many felt she went over the line with a series of tasteless tweets aimed at Lupita Nyong’o, Sidney Poitier, and others.
Twitter hit back at Handler over her borderline racist tweets, which we’re sure Handler will defend in the name of comedy. What sparked debate was one tweet from Handler shortly after Nyong’o won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years A Slave.
The tweet read, “Congratulations #lupita To pre order #ugandabekiddingme go to http://amzn.to/1pS4qpG #Oscar” – the link pointed to an Amazon web page hawking Handler’s upcoming Africa travel book Uganda Be Kidding Me.
Some users took umbrage with Handler connecting the sale of her book with Nyong’o’s win; Nyong’o’s family is from Kenya and she currently resides in the United States. Handler went on a roll after that, adding, “#AngelinaJolie just filed adoption papers #lupitanyongo #Oscars.”
She also took digs at Poitier, the celebrated actor and world figure. Accompanied by Angelina Jolie, Handler couldn’t help herself. “#AngelinaJolie’s adoption went through #sidneypoitier #Oscars,” she tweeted. “#NelsonMandela looks great #abc #resurrection,” she later added.
Handler spared no one, with Tyler Perry, Whoopi Goldberg and others getting caught in her wave of slander. 12 Years A Slave also got caught in the crossfire after winning the Oscar for Best Picture with Handler tweeting, “Congratulations #12yearsaslave Go to Africa or buy #ugandabekiddingme http://amzn.to/1de1ka9 #aheadofthecurve #Oscars.”
TheGrio reached out to Handler’s publicist to get a statement which didn’t pan out, but did manage to get statements from Huffington Post’s Senior Executive Director for Communications Perri Dorset stating that Handler’s views were her own. Handler offered a paltry “#imsorry” tweet at the end of her barrage at the end of her tweeting duties.
Classy move, Chelsea Handler. Better this than being one of 50 Cent’s smutpieces, eh?
Hit the following pages to see the tweets of Oscar struggle from Chelsea Handler.
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Photo: Instagram/Chelsea Handler
