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.