Washington Post cartoonist resigns over paper’s refusal to publish satirical cartoon of Bezos and Trump

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes announced Friday she had resigned from The Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish a satirical cartoon depicting billionaire Post owner Jeff Bezos on bended knee in front of President-elect Donald Trump.

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes announced Friday she had resigned from The Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish a satirical cartoon depicting billionaire Post owner Jeff Bezos on bended knee in front of President-elect Donald Trump. Talnaes, who had been with The Post since 2008, wrote in a Substack post announcing her resignation that, “I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.” The cartoon depicted Bezos, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI chief Sam Altman on their knees, handing over bags of cash to a statue of Trump next to a lipstick-holding Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and bowing Mickey Mouse. Talnaes said the cartoon “criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump,” satirizing “these men with lucrative government contracts and an interest in eliminating regulations making their way to Mar-a-lago.” The Post’s refusal to run the cartoon, Talnaes said, was a “game changer…and dangerous for a free press.” David Shipley, The Post’s opinions editor, said in a statement that he respected Telnaes, “but I must disagree with her interpretation of events.”