hillary clinton
Vanity Fair suggested Hillary Clinton should take up knitting in 2018 and Twitter is furiously roasting them for it - File photo Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

Vanity Fair has triggered fierce outrage over a video suggesting Hillary Clinton take up knitting in 2018 as one of her resolutions for the new year.

The video is part of a series published by Vanity Fair's The Hive that offered six New Year's resolution suggestions to different politicians and notable figures, including President Donald Trump, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn.

Intended to be humorous, the video for Clinton suggested that the former senator, Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate "take up a new hobby in the new year – volunteer work, knitting, improve comedy, literally anything that will keep you from running again". It ended with journalists raising a mocking "Cheers to you, Hillary" champagne toast.

The video for Clinton was tweeted less than a week after The Hill reported that she is considering her role in the 2018 congressional elections and working towards the next phase of her political group "Onward Together".

Twitter, on the other hand, was not amused with Vanity Fair's video and immediately slammed it as tone-deaf and "extremely sexist" using the now viral hashtag #CancelVanityFair. Others questioned why other male candidates who ran for president such as John Kerry, Al Gore or Bernie Sanders did not get their own videos.

Actress Patricia Arquette tweeted, "Hey STOP TELLING WOMEN WHAT THE F-CK THEY SHOULD DO OR CAN DO. Get over your mommy issues."

"This video is insulting. You should all be embarrassed of yourselves. Telling a woman what to do -specifically a woman of her accomplishments - is sexist and gross. Enjoy the fallout," Jamie Grayson wrote.

Former Clinton adviser Peter Daou ripped into Vanity Fair for insulting "one of the most accomplished women in the history of the United States".

"Six young white people holding glasses of champagne would like Hillary Clinton to abandon her life's work and platform and just shut up. Good to know," journalist Summer Brennan added.

In response to the massive backlash, Maya Kosoff, the magazine staffer who advised Clinton to take up knitting tweeted, "i don't appreciate being taken out of context to make me seem super sexist. this wasn't a hillary hit piece either, fwiw! we made silly new years resolutions for a bunch of politicians."

Vanity Fair spokesman Beth Kseniak later said in a statement that the video was "an attempt at humor and we regret that it missed the mark". At the time of publication, the video was still up on Vanity Fair's website and social media channels.

Clinton has not yet responded to Vanity Fair's video or the ensuing backlash.