This is a cartoon drawn by Mark Knight and published in the Australian newspaper Herald Sun. During the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open final, American tennis star Serena Williams lost to Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka. During their match, Williams was penalized for racket abuse and confronting the umpire. In the cartoon, Serena Williams is depicted throwing a tantrum while the referee behind her asks her competitor, “Can you just let her win?” There is a pacifier on the ground below Williams, and many claimed her body contours are enlarged and facial features overly-exaggerated. The Herald Sun, amid controversy, sided with the artist’s satirical vision, but many critics found the image to be a racist and sexist exaggeration reminiscent of animated blackface characters.

discussion

Compare Williams’ features with that of her competitor in the background of the image. What differences do you notice?

How do you think Knight’s illustration of Williams affects people’s opinions about her, especially non-tennis fans?

The Herald Sun reprinted the same cartoon on the front page and commented, “If the self-appointed censors of Mark Knight get their way…our new politically correct life will be very dull indeed.” Do you agree with the Herald Sun’s decision to defend Knight and reprint the same cartoon after it has sparked controversy?

Can you think of other examples where satirical cartoons or other media have been a source of controversy?