Sarah Silverman Tweets Crude Joke About 9/11 Widows

October 6th, 2010 1:53 PM

Standup comic and New York Times-bestselling author Sarah Silverman joked on Twitter that widows of the Sept. 11 attacks "give the best handjobs" on Oct. 6, attributing the quote to pseudonymous 19th century author and satirist Mark Twain.

"‘9/11 widows give the best hand jobs.' -Mark Twain," wrote Silverman, adding the hashtag, "#notcooltwain."

Later that day, the star of Comedy Central's "Sarah Silverman Program," appeared to amend her outlandish comment.

"Have remorse about last tweet," Silverman wrote on Twitter. "I'm sorry. Meant to be silly not mean. Should've quoted [Civil Rights activist and poet Maya] Angelou."

Silverman's racy brand of humor and left-wing politics has often been a source of controversy. In 2001, the comedienne came under fire for using a racial slur for people of Chinese origin during an appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

The comic has also been an outspoken critic of the conservative movement. In her New York Times bestselling book, "The Bedwetter," Silverman wrote that, "The entire Fox News Channel is a twenty-four-hour-a-day racism engine, but it's all coded, all implied."

Silverman also headed up "The Great Schlep," a campaign during the 2008 presidential election that was aimed at urging Jewish young adults to convince their Florida grandparents to vote for the then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

"If you knew that visiting your grandparents could change the world, would you do it? Of course you would," said Silverman, in a video for the campaign. "[S]chlep over to Florida and convince your grandparents to vote Obama."