The Onion hilariously eviscerates Michael Cohen's 2013 demand to remove a 'disgusting' article about Trump
Back in 2013, before anyone suspected that Donald Trump might one day become president, satirical news outlet The Onion made fun of the reality TV host by mocking his birther claims. Even then, Trump's longtime fixer Michael Cohen was defending him behind the scenes.
The Onion on Monday finally responded to a 2013 cease-and-desist letter from Cohen regarding a satirical article about Trump, hilariously taking down the attorney for his outrage.
Earlier that year, the satirical news outlet published a piece titled "When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In About 15 or 20 Years" and attributed it to Trump. "You can always take solace in the fact that the monstrous, unimaginable piece of s--t that is me will stop existing fairly soon," read the article. "Why, by 2020, I, a man who recently tried to extort the sitting president of the United States to release his college and passport records, might even begin to show signs of serious and unavoidable decline in mental and physical faculties."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The article did not sit well with Cohen. He called it an "absolutely disgusting piece" that went "way beyond defamation" in an email to The Onion soon after it was published. Cohen demanded that the article be removed and that the publication issue an apology. The Onion, needless to say, did not feel that necessary.
"We would be more than willing to accommodate Mr. Cohen's wishes," the outlet wrote in long-overdue response, "provided we get something in return, of course." The Onion poked fun at recent reports alleging that Cohen had accepted money in exchange for access to Trump, asking for a quid pro quo deal over the offensive article. Read the full response at The Onion.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
-
‘Never more precarious’: the UN turns 80The Explainer It’s an unhappy birthday for the United Nations, which enters its ninth decade in crisis
-
Trump’s White House ballroom: a threat to the republic?Talking Point Trump be far from the first US president to leave his mark on the Executive Mansion, but to critics his remodel is yet more overreach
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
