Pulitzer winner cartoonist quits Washington Post over Trump, Bezos sketch

A Pulitzer Prize-winning American cartoonist has quit the Washington Post newspaper, claiming her latest sketch was axed by her editor due to its lampooning of the relationships between prominent tech and media figures and US President-elect Donald Trump.

Illustrator Ann Telnaes, 64, announced her resignation via her own Substack blog on Saturday, including a draft of the political cartoon in the post and accusing her editor of preventing her from doing the "critical job" of "[holding] powerful people and institutions accountable."

A draft of the cartoon Telnaes says was censored, figures including Facebook/Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos are depicted groveling at the feet of a rotund figure representing Trump and holding up sacks of money as if offering tribute.

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This cartoon was created by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes, it depicts Jeff Bezos and a few other corrupt billionaires funding the orange felon and bending their knee to him. The Washington Post blocked it from being seen, so she has resigned. pic.twitter.com/Zlp83bnBsb

— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) January 4, 2025 >

"The cartoon … criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump," wrote Telnaes, bemoaning "men with lucrative government contracts and an interest in eliminating regulations making their way to [Trump's Florida residence] Mar-a-Lago."

Telnaes said that while she accepted it was not uncommon for editors to reject cartoons or suggest changes for various reasons, she had "never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now."

She called the decision a "game-changer" and warned that it was "dangerous for a free press."

Editor refutes accusation

The editor of the Post's commentary desk, David Shipley, contradicted Telnaes' portrayal of events.

"Not every editorial decision is an expression of a malicious power," he said in a statement seen by the German dpa news agency.

He said he rejected the cartoon because other columnists had also dealt with the same topic, and he wanted to avoid repetition.

The Washington Post has belonged to Amazon founder Bezos since 2013, and the billionaire recently insisted that he is not pursuing any personal interests with the newspaper.

Bezos' comments came following widespread criticism from both readers and staff in November after the Post refused to endorse either candidate in the 2024 US presidential election.

The decision broke with decades of tradition and reportedly cost the Post over 200,000 online subscribers. Three editorial board members also resigned.

CEO and publisher Will Lewis claimed the decision was his alone, but the Post's own journalists reported that the call was made by owner Bezos, which the paper denied.