‘Saturday Night Live' writer suspended indefinitely for tweet mocking Barron Trump

NEW YORK - Katie Rich, a “Saturday Night Live” writer who mocked Barron Trump, the youngest child of President Donald Trump, in a tweet during Friday's inaugural festivities, has been suspended from the late-night comedy show.

Rich was suspended immediately after the tweet, and will be suspended indefinitely, according to a source familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly.

In the original message, Rich predicted that 10-year-old Barron would become “the country's first homeschool shooter.” The message was soon deleted by Rich, who also temporarily deactivated her personal Twitter account, but not before it drew widespread condemnation online.

On Monday, Rich apologized for the initial tweet, calling it “insensitive.” “I deeply regret my actions & offensive words. It was inexcusable & I'm so sorry,” said Rich, a veteran of Chicago's Second City who joined the NBC comedy show in 2013.

The Rich controversy is the latest wrinkle in “SNL's” complicated history with Trump, who has been a regular target of ridicule on the show since the 1980s, when he was played by Phil Hartman. Trump became the first actively campaigning presidential candidate to host the show last year, amid controversy over his comments on Mexican immigrants.

But since Alec Baldwin began playing Trump this fall, the relationship has soured. The president has repeatedly taken to Twitter in the wee hours to criticize the show's gleefully mocking portrayals of him and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.