CARTOONIST SLAMMED FOR SERENA SKETCH
Knight’s caricature of Serena irks even author Rowling
AN AUSTRALIAN cartoonist faced withering criticism yesterday for portraying tennis superstar Serena Williams using — what Harry Potter author JK Rowling described as — “racist and sexist tropes.”
Mark Knight’s caricature, published in Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper on Monday, showed a butch and fat-lipped Serena throwing a temper tantrum at the US Open.
In the midst of losing Saturday’s final, the 23-time Grand Slam champion smashed her racquet and called the umpire a “thief ” and a “liar.”
She was deducted a point and received a US$17,000 fine RM68,000), stirring the tennis world and sparking a broader debate about double standards toward men and women in the sport.
In Knight’s cartoon, Serena was seen jumping up and down having spat out a dummy as the umpire asks Haitian-Japanese tournament winner Naomi Osaka “can’t you just let her win?”
Knight, who has a reputation for controversial cartoons, was pilloried from far and wide for his portrayal — including by a member of the US Congress and a large portion of the 22,000 people who commented on his Twitter post showing the drawing.
The detractors included author JK Rowling, who said: “Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop.”
Knight responded to the criticism by pointing out that he had drawn an unflattering portrayal of Australian male tennis star Nick Kyrgios “behaving badly.”
“Don’t bring gender into it when it’s all about behaviour,” he said.