AceShowbiz -

Author Daniel Handler has apologized for comments he made when hosting the National Book Awards on Wednesday, November 19. The "Lemony Snicket" author, who has been criticized for being racist, took to Twitter to apologize for the "ill-conceived attempts at humor" during the hosting stint.

"My job at last night's National Book Awards #NBAwards was to shine a light on tremendous writers, including Jacqueline Woodson and not to overshadow their achievements with my own ill-conceived attempts at humor. I clearly failed, and I'm sorry," he wrote.

The whole debacle started after author Jacqueline Woodson was announced as a winner for her book "Brown Girl Dreaming". After Woodson delivered her speech, Handler shared, "I told Jackie she was going to win. And I said that if she won, I would tell all of you something I learned about her this summer - which is that Jackie Woodson is allergic to watermelon. Just let that sink in," he said.

He told Woodson she should mention it in the book, but she said he should do it himself. "I am only writing a book about a black girl who is allergic to watermelon if I get a blurb from you, Cornell West, Toni Morrison and Barack Obama, saying, 'This guy's okay! This guy's fine!' " he joked.