The Australian Press Council ruled Monday that a racist cartoon of tennis stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka that was published in an Australian newspaper last year after Williams’ outburst at the 2018 U.S. Open Final did not breach media standards.
In its ruling, the Press Council said that it "acknowledged that some readers found the cartoon offensive," but added that the council accepted the "publisher’s claim that it does not depict Ms Williams as an ape, rather showing her as ‘spitting the dummy’.
"Specifically, concern was expressed that the cartoon depicted Ms. Williams with large lips, a broad flat nose, a wild afro-styled ponytail hairstyle different to that worn by Ms.