A Washington Post cartoonist announced this week that she had left the newspaper after it rejected her cartoon of Amazon founder and Post owner Jeff Bezos groveling toward President-elect Trump.
Post-editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes wrote about her Substack page On Friday, she resigned from the outlet, accusing it of embellishing the cartoon because it was critical of the billionaire.
In the article “Why I’m Quitting the Washington Post,” Telnaes said, “I’ve had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some disagreements—about cartoons I’ve submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had one. a cartoon that was killed because of who or what I pointed my pen at, until now.”
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A Washington Post cartoonist announced she was leaving the paper after it enhanced her cartoon mocking Post owner Jeff Bezos. ((Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage) ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)
The cartoonist shared a rough cut of the unpublished cartoon, which depicted Bezos and other unspecified wealthy businessmen kneeling and holding up bags of money to the new president. Next to them, Mickey Mouse lay on the floor, apparently a representation of Disney’s supposed subservience to Trump.
Explaining her drawing, Telnaes said, “The cartoon that was killed criticizes billionaire technology and media executives who have done their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.”
Despite a rocky relationship between the two over the years, Bezos has expressed support for Trump following his 2024 election victory. In the aftermath of Election Day, the Amazon owner told reporters that he “very optimistic‘ on Trump’s regulatory agenda.
Bezos recently pledged to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. He also dined with the new president at his Mar-a-Lago residence in December.
Tech billionaires, including Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have been supporting Trump since his victory on Election Day. (Getty Images)
Bezos also infuriated liberals, including Post staff, just before the election by deciding that the newspaper would don’t make a presidential endorsement.
Other prominent tech moguls have met with Trump in the months since his victory, including Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Telnaes’ Disney reference appears to be a dig at the company being cited as a factor behind ABC News’ recent $15 million settlement with Trump earlier this month.
In her Substack piece, Telnaes continued to express her belief that the Post squashed the cartoon because of its political point. She wrote: “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. That’s a game changer… and dangerous to a free press .”
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“As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor stopped me from doing that crucial work. That’s why I’ve decided to leave the Post,” she added.
However, Washington Post editorial page editor David Shipley — who admitted to making the decision to end it himself — denied her accusation that The Post killed the cartoon for political reasons, saying in a recent statement that he did this to avoid ‘repetition’ of the cartoon. a story.
He said: “Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malevolent force. My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same subject as the cartoon and had already planned another column – this one being a satire – for The only bias was against repetition.”
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Telnaes has not yet responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.
