THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN of News Corp Australasia, Michael Miller, has spoken out in defence of Australian cartoonist, Mark Knight, who has been the subject of intense backlash following his depiction of Serena Williams’ conduct during the US Open.
In a cartoon for the Herald Sun, which is published by News Corp Australasia, Wright focussed on Serena’s displeasure during her match with 20-year-old Naomi Osaka – the result of which has been branded ‘racist’ and ‘sexist’ by various sections of society.
Dismissing the accusations in a tweet posted last night, Michael Miller argues that the world has ‘gone too PC’ and that it fails to understand the role provided by cartoonists such as Wright.
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. #media #cartoons #markknight @Knightcartoons @theheraldsun https://t.co/KQFuvIJp0Q pic.twitter.com/sRo3AQ1cJW
— Michael Miller (@mm_newscorpaus) September 10, 2018
Criticism of Mark Knight’s Serena Williams cartoon shows the world has gone too PC and misunderstands the role of news media cartoons and satire. Poor behaviour in any sport needs to be called out.
Miller then linked to an article published by The Herald Sun which acknowledged the controversy born of the cartoon and included a justification from the paper’s editor.
Disregarding the argument that the cartoon was discriminatory in any way, Herald Sun editor, Damon Johnston, said:
A champion tennis player had a mega tantrum on the world stage, and Mark’s cartoon depicted that. It had nothing to do with gender or race.
36-year-old Serena, who holds 23 Grand Slam titles, received three code violations from Carlos Ramos, and ultimately lost to Osaka in a game which has dominated headlines since the weekend.
