Australian artist attacked on Twitter over Serena Williams racist cartoon
An Australian cartoonist claims the “world's gone crazy” after an angry global backlash to his so-called “racist” depiction of tennis star Serena Williams having a tantrum during the US Open.
Herald Sun editorial cartoonist Mark Knight defended the controversial illustration, published in the Melbourne-based newspaper on Monday, amid online criticism from the likes of author J.K. Rowling and rapper Nicki Minaj who branded him 'c***sucker of the day'.
But Knight said he simply made the drawing after witnessing 'the world's greatest tennis player spit the dummy'.
“It's a cartoon about poor behaviour. It's nothing to do with race,” the Daily Mail quotes Knight as telling radio station 3AW.
The Herald Sun has also backed Mr Knight in the face of international criticism.
The paper's editor, Damon Johnston, said Knight's cartoon had shown how “a champion tennis player had a mega tantrum on the world stage”.
The Executive Chairman of News Corp Australasia, Michael Miller, also threw his support behind Knight and the cartoon.
“Criticism of Mark Knight's Serena Williams cartoon shows the world has gone too PC & misunderstands the role of news media cartoons and satire. Poor behaviour in any sport needs to be called out,” Mr Miller wrote on Twitter.
The cartoon depicts Williams, 36, as a baby having a tantrum on the court.
In the illustration, Williams is shown with an enlarged lips and nose, and her cheekbones have been emphasised. A dummy lies next to her feet and she is shown jumping in the air, her fists clenched in
frustration like a petulant child.
In the background is Naomi Osaka, the 20-year-old Haitian-Japanese athlete who won the match.
She is depicted as slender, white and blonde, looking up hopefully towards umpire Carlos Ramos.
Knight had shared the cartoon on Twitter, as did the newspaper. However, it was quickly slammed by critics around the world who compared the image to a Jim Crow-era representation of black women.