Fact Check

Was a Saturday Night Live Writer Suspended Over a Tweet About Barron Trump?

SNL Weekend Update writer Katie Rich has been disciplined for tweeting what critics called a distasteful joke about the president's 10-year-old child.

Published Jan. 24, 2017

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Image Via Debby Wong / Shutterstock, Inc.
Claim:
A Saturday Night Live writer was suspended for tweeting about Trump's youngest child.

A writer for weekly NBC sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live" was indefinitely suspended after backlash over a tweet she wrote on 20 January 2017 about President Donald Trump's youngest child, Barron.

Katie Rich, who writes jokes for the show's mock news segment, "Weekend Update," posted a tweet during the 45th president's inauguration that 10-year-old Barron Trump "will be this country’s first homeschool shooter." On 23 January 2017, Rich tweeted an apology:

A person who is familiar with the situation, but not authorized to comment on the record, told us that Rich was suspended immediately after the tweet, and the suspension is indefinite.

Rich has worked at SNL since 2013.

Sources

Itzkoff, David. "Katie Rich of ‘S.N.L.’ Is Suspended for Tweet Mocking Barron Trump." The New York Times. 23 January 2017.

Bradley, Laura. "Comedy Community Rallies Around S.N.L. Writer Suspended for Barron Trump Tweet." Vanity Fair.24 January 2017.

Enloe, Chris. "'Saturday Night Live' Writer Smears Donald Trump’s 10-Year-Old Son." The Daily Caller. 20 January 2017.

Bethania Palma is a journalist from the Los Angeles area who has been working in the news industry since 2006.

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