Peter Fonda apologized on Wednesday after suggesting on Twitter that someone put Barron Trump “in a cage with pedophiles” in order to get President Donald Trump to do something about children being separated from their families at the border.
“I tweeted something highly inappropriate and vulgar about the president and his family in response to the devastating images I was seeing on television,” Fonda said in a statement. “Like many Americans, I am very impassioned and distraught over the situation with children separated from their families at the border, but I went way too far. It was wrong and I should not have done it. I immediately regretted it and sincerely apologize to the family for what I said and any hurt my words have caused.”
Fonda said Wednesday morning, in a now-deleted tweet: “We should rip Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles and see if mother will stand up against the giant a-hole she is married to.”
President Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., took to Twitter calling for Sony Pictures Classic to take action. Fonda, a two-time Oscar nominee, stars alongside Christopher Plummer and Vera Farmiga in Sony’s “Boundaries,” which is out Friday.
Melania Trump’s spokesperson was quick to denounce Fonda, saying, “the tweet is sick and irresponsible and USSS has been notified.”
The Secret Service told TheWrap that it was aware of the tweet but declined to offer any additional comments
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday putting an end to his administration’s policy of separating the families of undocumented migrants at the U.S. border.
The policy had drawn a lot of criticism as videos and audio clips were released, showing the cage-like conditions in which many of the separated children are being held.
9 Stars Who Faced Consequences After Inappropriate Tweets, From Roseanne to Alec Baldwin (Photos)
A lot of celebrities have said dumb, offensive or tasteless things on Twitter. But while most of them just get ratio'd until they apologize or delete the problem away, some stars have had to face real consequences for their 280-character mistakes. Most prominently was Roseanne Barr, whose ABC sitcom was canceled after she tweeted racist comments about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and billionaire Democratic Party donor George Soros. Here are some other stars who paid a steep price for the things they tweeted.
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Chad Ochocinco - Aug. 2010
It wasn't what football star Chad Ochocinco tweeted, but when he tweeted that got him in trouble. Ochocinco was fined $25,000 by the NFL after tweeting during a football game he was playing in. "Man I'm sick of getting hit like that , its the damn preseason [expletive]! 1day I'm gone jump up and start throwing hay makers , #Tylenolplease," he wrote. He sent another tweet at the end of the game apologizing, adding, "1st time twitter hasn't made me money but cost me money."
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Gilbert Gottfried - March 2011
Gilbert Gottfried is known for shocking audiences, but his joke about a tsunami that hit Japan didn't go over so well with insurance company Aflac. Gottfried voiced the Aflac duck in the company's commercials for 11 years but was fired when he tweeted, "I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, 'There'll be another one floating by any minute now."
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Alec Baldwin - June 2013
Alec Baldwin came under fire back in 2013 when he tweeted threatening, homophobic comments to a reporter who wrote a story that Baldwin's wife tweeted during the funeral for James Gandolfini. "If (sic) put my foot up your f—ing ass, George Stark, but I'm sure you'd dig it too much," said Baldwin. He followed that with: "I'm gonna find you, George Stark, you toxic little queen, and I'm gonna f— … you … up." He later apologized directly to GLAAD and briefly suspended his use of Twitter.
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CeeLo Green - Sept. 2014
Singer CeeLo Green's show "The Good Life" was canceled by TBS in the same week that Green both pleaded no contest to a felony charge and tweeted the following about rape: “People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!" He also said, "If someone is passed out they’re not even WITH you consciously! so WITH Implies consent.” Green later apologized.
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Rosie O'Donnell - Dec. 2017
Rosie O'Donnell was slapped by Twitter itself after telling conservative pundit Ben Shapiro to "suck my d---." Shapiro reported her, and after Twitter initially said the tweet did not violate its policy, Shapiro cried double standard. Twitter reversed its position soon after and removed her tweets.
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David Eason - Feb. 2018
David Eason, who starred on MTV's "Teen Mom 2," was fired from the show in February after tweeting homophobic comments. He referred to gay and transgender people as "abominations" who he would teach his kids not to associate with.
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James Gunn - July 2018
Director James Gunn was fired from Marvel and Disney's "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise after a series of old tweets of his resurfaced making "offensive" jokes about rape and pedophilia. Gunn apologized for the tweets, and the stars of "Guardians of the Galaxy," most notably actor Dave Bautista, defended Gunn and asked that he be reinstated as director.
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James Woods - Sept. 2018
Actor James Woods found himself locked out from Twitter after sharing a meme that was considered potentially "misleading" about the midterm elections. Woods is a noted conservative known for his often inflammatory right-wing commentary. He even revealed on Twitter he was dropped by his agent on July 4, who said he was feeling "patriotic" to no longer represent Woods. Fellow pundits accused Twitter of a liberal bias with an attempt to silence conservative voices. Woods was eventually reinstated to Twitter in October and said he did not delete the offending tweet in order to get reinstated. "As a conservative I am not about to walk on eggshells because of Twitter’s bias or liberal insanity in general,” Woods said upon returning to Twitter.
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Rosie O’Donnell, Gilbert Gottfried and Chad Ochocinco got slapped with more than just backlash after these social media faux pas
A lot of celebrities have said dumb, offensive or tasteless things on Twitter. But while most of them just get ratio'd until they apologize or delete the problem away, some stars have had to face real consequences for their 280-character mistakes. Most prominently was Roseanne Barr, whose ABC sitcom was canceled after she tweeted racist comments about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and billionaire Democratic Party donor George Soros. Here are some other stars who paid a steep price for the things they tweeted.
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