A Washington Post cartoonist has made the bold decision to quit her job after an editor rejected her cartoon that poked fun at the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, and other media execs who she felt were too cozy with President-elect Donald Trump.
Ann Telnaes shared the news on Friday through a post on Substack, explaining that the cartoon she created showed a group of media bigwigs—including Bezos—bowing before Trump and offering him bags of money. The cartoon was meant to criticize what Telnaes saw as tech and media CEOs trying to win favor with Trump, some of whom had visited his Mar-a-Lago club. Telnaes pointed out that these executives were benefiting from government contracts and seeking to dismantle regulations.
For Telnaes, this wasn’t just about the cartoon—it was about her job as an editorial cartoonist. She wrote, “As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable.” But in this case, she says, the editor blocked her from doing exactly that, which she feels is a dangerous move for a free press.
“Never before have I had a cartoon rejected because of its message,” she continued. “So I have decided to leave the Post. I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, ‘Democracy dies in darkness.’”
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists quickly issued a statement calling the Post’s decision “political cowardice” and encouraged other cartoonists to share Telnaes’ rejected sketch with the hashtag #StandWithAnn to show their support.
“Tyranny ends at pen point,” the association said. “It thrives in the dark, and the Washington Post simply closed its eyes and gave in like a punch-drunk boxer.”
The Washington Post’s communications director, Liza Pluto, responded with a statement from the paper’s editorial page editor, David Shipley. He disagreed with Telnaes’ take, saying he nixed the cartoon because the paper had already run a column on the same subject and had plans for another one.
“Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force… The only bias was against repetition,” Shipley explained.
It’s clear that Telnaes isn’t backing down—she remains committed to using her art to challenge those in power, no matter where she works.