Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned on January 3, 2025, after the newspaper declined to publish her cartoon depicting Jeff Bezos and other business and media figures bowing before President-elect Donald Trump and offering him money. Telnaes said the cartoon’s viewpoint was the issue; then-editorial page editor David Shipley said he rejected it because the paper had already covered the topic and had another related column scheduled. Their accounts conflict, and the available reporting does not establish which explanation accounts for the decision.
What did Ann Telnaes’s Bezos cartoon show?
The drawing portrayed prominent media and technology figures in a posture of deference to Trump, with bags of money. The figures included Bezos, who owns The Washington Post; Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg; Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong; and a Mickey Mouse figure representing Disney. The Guardian described the figures as kneeling, while the Associated Press described them as bowing and offering money.
Telnaes said the target was “billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.” She also alleged that several executives had been seen at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and had lucrative government contracts and interests in eliminating regulations. Those were Telnaes’s claims about the context, not findings independently established by the reporting cited here.
Why did the Washington Post cartoonist resign?
Telnaes announced her departure in a January 3, 2025, post on her Substack. She said she had never before had a cartoon rejected because of its inherent message and viewed the decision as dangerous for a free press. “As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable,” she wrote. She added: “For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post.”
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Shipley disputed her interpretation. He said the Post had just published a column on the same subject and had another, satirical column scheduled. As the Associated Press quoted him: “Not every editorial judgement is a reflection of a malign force. … The only bias was against repetition.” The Guardian quoted him saying: “My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column – this one a satire – for publication.”
How do Telnaes’s and Shipley’s explanations differ?
| Speaker | Stated explanation | What the reporting establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Ann Telnaes | She said the rejection was based on the cartoon’s viewpoint and that it prevented her from holding powerful people accountable. | Her first-person account establishes her interpretation of the decision; it does not independently prove the editor’s motive. |
| David Shipley, then editorial page editor | He said the topic had just been covered and another related, satirical column was already scheduled. | His explanation establishes the rationale he gave; it does not independently resolve the disagreement. |
The distinction matters: the sources establish that both accounts were stated, not which motive ultimately explains the rejection. The Associated Press reported that Shipley spoke with Telnaes and asked her to reconsider leaving.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was the wider context at the Post?
The resignation came less than three months after the Post decided not to publish a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The Guardian reported more than 200,000 combined subscription cancellations at the Post and the Los Angeles Times following the endorsement decisions, with the overwhelming majority affecting the Post. That is a Guardian-reported figure, not an audited count presented here.
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists criticized the Post’s decision and encouraged cartoonists to share Telnaes’s sketch using #StandWithAnn. The association’s response was advocacy, not an independent determination of why the cartoon was rejected.
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Quick Recap
Sources
- Associated Press, reporting on Telnaes’s resignation and the accounts from Telnaes and Shipley.
- The Guardian, reporting on the cartoon’s figures and the surrounding endorsement controversy.
- Ann Telnaes’s first-person resignation post.
- Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.
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