Pulitzer-winning cartoonist quits after Washington Post rejects Jeff Bezos satire
What's the story
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes has quit The Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish her satirical cartoon. The controversial piece took aim at Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of the newspaper, and other media moguls. They were shown kneeling before US President-elect Donald Trump in the cartoon. Telnaes announced her resignation on Substack, saying she was unhappy with the paper's decision.
Cartoon revealed
Washington Post defends decision, cartoonist shares draft
In her Substack post, Telnaes shared a draft of the contentious cartoon. It included figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Patrick Soon-Shiong next to Bezos. The cartoon took tech and media executives to task for their attempts to curry favor with Trump. "To be clear, there have been instances where sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon's commentary," she wrote.
Editor's response
Washington Post's opinion editor responds to resignation
Meanwhile, David Shipley, the Opinion Editor of The Washington Post, defended the newspaper's decision to not publish Telnaes's cartoon. He said that "the only bias was against repetition," as a similar column had already been published and another satire was due for release. Shipley also revealed that he had asked Telnaes to reconsider her decision to resign from the newspaper.
Past controversies
Telnaes' resignation follows previous controversies
The incident adds to another controversy involving the Post and Bezos. Less than three months ago, they were criticized for not endorsing Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 elections. Telnaes is a celebrated cartoonist who won a Pulitzer in 2001 for illustrated reporting at the Los Angeles Times. She was also a finalist for the same award in 2022 with The Washington Post and won the Reuben Award in 2017.