Following the publication’s decision to reject one of her pictures, Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Ann Telnaes announced her departure from The Washington Post.
Telnaes, who has worked for The Washington Post since 2008, made the announcement Friday night in a Substack article, citing the dismissal of her film, which depicts Post user Jeff Bezos bending before a monument of Donald Trump’s re-elect.
The film also featured Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Los Angeles Times user Patrick Soon-Shiong, and Disney mascot Mickey Mouse.
I’ve had editorial comments and effective conversations about cartoons I’ve submitted for publication, but there haven’t been any deaths because of who or what I aimed my pen at. Until today”. Telnaes wrote in the message.
Telnaes called the decision to end her film “dangerous for a free click” and “game change”
David Shipley, the thoughts director for The Washington Post, defended the determination, stating it was not motivated by discrimination but by journal factors. Shipley explained that the paper had just published a column addressing the same subject as the animation starring Telnaes and that a second satire piece was on schedule for publication. ” The just discrimination was against repetition”, Shipley said in a statement.
Shipley continued to say he admired Telnaes ‘ contributions to the news and had spoken with her on Friday to ask her to reevaluate her departure.
Her departure has drawn condemnation from fellow artists, including Matt Wuerker of Politico, who called the decision to reject her work” feckless”. Wuerker invoked the tradition of legendary Post artist Herbert Block, known as Herblock, and past Post editor Ben Bradlee, saying they had be” spinning, kicking, and screaming in their tombs”.
