An Australian newspaper has defended their decision to publish a cartoon of Serena Williams earlier this week by publishing it once again on their front page.
There has been widespread anger over Mark Knight’s drawing of Williams that was featured in The Herald Sun following a dramatic US Open women’s final. The picture has been called by some a racist. Williams is shown as having a tantrum on the court and Naomi Osaka in the background speaking with the umpire. Knight decided to oversize Williams’ lips in his sketch and Osaka was white with blond hair. US Open champion Osaka has dark hair with blond highlights and is of mixed race.
“Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop.” Author J.K. Rowling wrote on Twitter in response to the cartoon.
Despite the controversy, the newspaper has defended their cartoon. In a special front page on Wednesday, they uploaded a series of satirical cartoons, including Williams’ one, with the headline ‘Welcome to the PC world.’ Attacking the ‘self-appointed censors‘ who have deemed the sketch as offensive.
“If the self-appointed censors of Mark Knight get their way on his Serena Williams cartoon, our new political correct life will be very dull indeed.” The newspaper wrote on their front page.
Damon Johnson is the editor of The Herald Sun. On Tuesday he backed Knight in a post uploaded to his Twitter account. Saying that the cartoon “rightly mocks poor behaviour by a tennis legend” and that Knight “has the full support of everyone” at the paper.
Knight has also spoken out about the issue himself. Saying that his drawing had no racist motivation at all. He is an experienced editorial cartoonist that has worked in the industry for more than three decades. He also designs the Herald Sun’s Australian Foot League’s (AFL) Premiership commemorative covers.
“The cartoon was just about Serena on the day having a tantrum.” He said.
“A few days beforehand I had actually drawn a cartoon of Australian Nick Kyrgios and his bad behaviour at the US Open, so I’m not targeting (Serena). Serena is a champion.
“I drew her as an African-American woman, she’s powerfully built, she wears these outrageous costumes when she plays tennis – she’s interesting to draw.
“I drew her as she is. As an African-American woman, so this whole business that I am some sort of racist, calling on racial cartoons from the past, it’s just made up. It’s not there.”
At the US Open Williams was slammed with a game penalty following an intense argument with the umpire Carlos Ramos. The former world No.1 received a total of three warnings during the match. The fallout from the controversy has triggered a debate about if sexism played a factor. Something that Ramos has denied and the International Tennis Federation has insisted that he correctly followed the rule book.
