Cartoonist Quits The Washington Post Amid Refusal to Publish Caricature of Donald Trump with Owner Jeff Bezos
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World
January 6, 2025 08:33
washington - Award-winning American cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigns from The Washington Post, citing dissatisfaction over editorial interference and the refusal to publish her caricature involving Donald Trump and newspaper owner Jeff Bezos.
Award-winning American cartoonist Ann Telnaes (64) has resigned from The Washington Post after more than fifteen years of service. She stated that her decision was made out of discontent over editorial interference and the rejection of a caricature she created.
"In all this time, never once has a cartoon of mine been rejected because of who or what I chose as a subject. Until now," Telnaes announced in a blog post over the weekend. The rejected cartoon targeted tech billionaires Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, and the wealthy owner of the newspaper, Jeff Bezos, insinuating their efforts to curry favor with Donald Trump as he prepares to take office in two weeks.
The cartoon was a response to recent articles detailing interactions and concessions towards Trump. Zuckerberg from Meta made a donation to the Republican, describing them as 'men who have found their way to Mar-a-Lago.' Bezos, also the owner of Amazon, recently met with Trump along with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
"While it is not uncommon for opinion editors to object to visual metaphors in a cartoon if they believe it conveys an unclear or incorrect message, in this case, there was no such editorial criticism," she writes. "This is a game-changer... and dangerous for press freedom."
Swedish-born Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 2001, asserts that as a cartoonist, it is her duty to hold powerful individuals and institutions accountable. "For the first time, my editor has prevented me from fulfilling that critical task, and thus, I have chosen to leave the newspaper. I doubt my decision will cause much uproar as I am just a cartoonist, but I will not cease to hold the powerful to account, for as they say: 'democracy dies in darkness,'" Telnaes concludes with The Washington Post's famous slogan.
The newspaper previously faced resignations due to the absence of the traditional editorial endorsement. Many American newspapers provide such endorsements in their commentary leading up to elections.