J.K. Rowling calls out newspaper’s ‘racist and sexist’ Serena Williams cartoon

An offensive cartoon depicting tennis star Serena Williams has been the target of criticism since its publication by an Australian newspaper Monday. One of the strongest rebuttals of the drawing came from popular author J.K. Rowling, who slammed it for “reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes.”

The cartoon, which was drawn by Mark Knight of the Herald Sun, a newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, shows a depiction of Williams stomping on her racket. ESPN’s Jemele Hill said it was “about as subtle as Fran Drescher’s voice,” echoing the criticism of Rowling and others on social media.

Williams lost the US Open final to Naomi Osaka on Saturday after receiving multiple penalties from the umpire. She could be heard calling him a “thief” for taking away a point with an initial penalty, which led to a verbal infraction that cost her a game in the second set. She would go on to lose the match and be fined $17,000 for her actions.

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