A cartoon of Serena Williams that was branded racist by critics was not in breach of press standards and practice, Australian’s media watchdog has ruled.
The depiction of the tennis star by cartoonist Mark Knight published in the Melbourne’s Herald Sun last September showed her reacting angrily to her loss to Naomi Osaka in the final of the US Open.
It shows Williams with her mouth open wide, hands in fists and jumping above a broken racket and a baby’s pacifier.
In the background an umpire says to a player on the opposite side of the net, "Can you just let her win?"
It drew global attention after critics condemned the cartoon as racist.
In a ruling published Monday, the Australian Press Council said it "acknowledged that some readers found the cartoon offensive" but said there was sufficient public interest in commenting on the behaviour of a player with a globally high profile.
"The council considered 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."
Spitting the dummy is an Australian term for a tantrum.
The Herald Sun said the cartoon used "satire, caricature, exaggeration, and humour" to depict an event of public interest.
