Dear People of America,
Joking about Black people and watermelon is not funny.
Joking about a particular Black person with an allergy to watermelon after she’s won a prestigious literary award?
Especially not funny.
Apparently Daniel Handler, he of Lemony Snicket fame, did not get the memo when he attempted to make a funny out of Jacqueline Woodson’s condition at the National Book Awards on Wednesday.
After Woodson received the young people’s literature prize for Brown Girl Dreaming, Handler shared with the audience: “I told Jackie she was going to win … And I said that if she won, I would tell all of you something I learned about her this summer — which is that Jackie Woodson is allergic to watermelon. Just let that sink in your mind.”
#Awkward
But wait, it gets better (worse?)!
Clearly aware that the “joke” is offensive, he continues by saying he told Woodson to put that in a book and she told him to put it in one of his books, to which he responded:
“I said, ‘I’m only writing a book about a black girl who’s allergic to watermelon if I get a blurb from you, Cornel West, Toni Morrison and Barack Obama saying ‘This guy’s okay, this guy’s fine.'”
**crickets**
You can watch the entire cringe-worthy exchange HERE, courtesy of C-SPAN.
Handler later issued a standard Twitter apology:
My job at last night’s National Book Awards #NBAwards was to shine a light on tremendous writers, including Jacqueline Woodson… -DH [1/2]
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 20, 2014
…and not to overshadow their achievements with my own ill-conceived attempts at humor. I clearly failed, and I’m sorry. -DH [2/2] — Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 20, 2014
Welp. Hopefully he learned his lesson … and maybe taught one to others in the process:
Watermelon jokes = not funny.
Sincerely,
L’Oreal
