Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler, Apologizes For Racist Joke
Lemony Snicket, born Daniel Handler, has apologized after making a joke many felt was racist while hosting the 2014 National Book Awards ceremony.
Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) Makes Racist Jokes
Handler, known as Snicket, his penname for writing The Series of Unfortunate Events books, was hosting the book awards and upset audiences when he joked about Jacqueline Woodson, the winner of the Young People’s Literature award. Woodson, a black woman, won the award for her memoir Brown Girl Dreaming.
“I told you. 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. And I said, ‘You have to put that in a book.’ And she said, ‘You put it in a book.’ And I said, ‘I’m only writing a book about a black girl who’s allergic to watermelon if I get a blurb from you, Cornell West, Toni Morrison, and Barack Obama saying, ‘This guy’s OK. This guy’s fine,’” Handler said.
According to reports, Hanlder made many inappropriate racial jokes throughout the ceremony, which included referring to two black authors as “probably cause.”
Authors in the crowd were not amused.
When Jackie Woodson won the NBA, she thanked people for loving books and for changing the world. Then Daniel Handler made a watermelon joke.
— Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) November 20, 2014
A black writer at the pinnacle of her career makes an inspiring speech, and a white guy thinks this is the perfect time for a racial joke. — Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) November 20, 2014
I can’t decide what’s more disturbing: the joke or the titters from the (largely liberal) audience. Oh, publishing.
— Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) November 20, 2014
Daniel Handler’s racist “humor” at the NBAs last night is not okay and I am shocked that so few people are talking about it. — Roxane Gay (@rgay) November 20, 2014
Daniel Handler Apologizes
Handler quickly realized his mistake and took to Twitter to apologize to the authors and the public. On Thursday, Handler apologized for his “attempts at humor.”
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
Handler Pledges Up To $100,000 To ‘We Need Diverse Books’
But on Friday, after he continued to receive angry feedback on his jokes, Handler again took to Twitter to apologize further. Handler also pledged to donate $10,000 to ‘We Need Diverse Books’ and to match donations to the project with up to $100,000.
My remarks on Wednesday night at #NBAwards were monstrously inappropriate and yes, racist. -DH [1/4]
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
It would be heartbreaking for the #NBAwards conversation to focus on my behavior instead of great books. So can we do this? -DH [2/4] — Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
Let’s donate to #WeNeedDiverseBooks to #CelebrateJackie. I’m in for $10,000, and matching your money for 24 hours up to $100,000. -DH [3/4[
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
Brown Girl Dreaming is an amazing novel and we need more voices like Jacqueline Woodson. -DH [4/4] — Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
‘We Need Diverse Books’ aims to diversify the publishing world, specifically through funding more internships. “Right now, publishing is still a very homogeneous industry, while internships – which are critical to developing a career in the publishing world – are not financially accessible to most. This contributes to a lack of diversity within the industry,” reads the WNDB Indiegogo page.
WNDB hopes to fund internships for people of diverse background who need financial aid, and the program also hopes to fund year-long mentorship programs.
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