A cartoon of Serena Williams published after her US Open final defeat last year which was criticised for depicting her in an “ape-like pose” was not racist, a watchdog has found.
The 23-time grand slam champion lost her cool in the US Open final last September, after being given a warning for coaching from the stands early in the second set against Naomi Osaka.
She was penalised a point for smashing her racket, and then a game after she accused umpire Carlos Ramos of lying and stealing a point from her. That put Williams 5-3 down in the second set and she went on to lose 6-2 6-4.
In the aftermath, the Herald Sun published a cartoon of Williams, which drew widespread offence and accusations of racism for the way it depicted the tennis legend.
JK Rowling was among those to comment on the derogatory nature of the cartoon, saying: “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.”
The Australian Press Council said: “Concern was expressed that the cartoon depicted Ms Williams with large lips, a broad flat nose, a wild afro-styled ponytail hairstyle different to that worn by Ms Williams during the match and positioned in an ape-like pose.”
In an adjudication released on Monday, the watchdog said it acknowledged that some readers found the cartoon offensive, but said there was “a sufficient public interest” in commenting on sportsmanship during a “significant dispute” between a high-profile tennis player and an umpire at the US Open final.
It added: “The council considers that the cartoon uses exaggeration and absurdity to make its point but accepts the publisher’s claim that it does not depict Ms Williams as an ape, rather showing her as ‘spitting the dummy’, a non-racist caricature familiar to most Australian readers.”
The cartoon was also slammed for the way it depicted Naomi Osaka as a blonde opponent in the background, who faced the umpire to plead: “Can you just let her win?”
Osaka - who is biracial and has darker, curly hair - was the first Japanese player to capture a singles Grand Slam title.
At the time, cartoonist Mark Knight defended the drawing and insisted he was simply illustrating Williams’ behaviour on the day, telling the paper: “The cartoon was just about Serena on the day having a tantrum.”