Canadian artist is fired after cartoon showing President Trump playing golf while a father and daughter who drowned crossing the border lie nearby goes viral
- Canadian cartoonist Michael de Adder has been let go from Brunswick News Inc. after a cartoon of President Donald Trump went viral
- De Adder revealed on Twitter he’d been ‘let go from all the newspapers in New Brunswick’
- As de Adder was under contract, he clarified he was not ‘technically’ fired
- The decision was reportedly not explicitly linked to the cartoon, though it occurred only a short time after it went viral
- The cartoon itself is inspired by the now infamous image of Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria
- The pair died attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico after leaving El Salvador
A Canadian cartoonist has been fired after an illustration he drew of President Donald Trump standing over the bodies of two drowned migrants.
The cartoon Michael de Adder drew was for publishing company, Brunswick News Inc. in New Brunswick.
The company has since terminated his contact after the drawing went viral on social media.
The cartoon, posted on de Adder’s Twitter account on June 26, shows Trump standing beside a golf cart together with his golf club, while looking down at the bodies of a father and young daughter who drowned while crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas.
‘Do you mind if I play through?’ Trump is seen to ask in the cartoon.
The cartoon itself is inspired by the now infamous image of Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria
The pair died attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico after leaving El Salvador
The illustration was based on the tragic photo of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, 25, and his 23-month-old daughter, Angie Valeria, who were found lying face down in the muddy waters of the Rio Grande.
‘The highs and lows of cartooning. Today I was just let go from all newspapers in New Brunswick,’ De Adder wrote as he announced his termination from the newspapers owned by Brunswick News Inc. on Twitter.
Canadian cartoonist Michael de Adder has been let go from Brunswick News Inc. after a cartoon of President Donald Trump went viral
Brunswick News Inc. said in a statement on Sunday it is ‘entirely incorrect’ to suggest the company cancelled its freelance contract with de Adder over the cartoon.
‘This is a false narrative which has emerged carelessly and recklessly on social media,’ the company said. ‘In fact, BNI was not even offered this cartoon by Mr. de Adder. The decision to bring back reader favourite Greg Perry was made long before this cartoon, and negotiations had been ongoing for weeks.’
De Adder also maintained on Twitter that he was ‘not a victim’ claiming the termination of his contract was ‘a setback not a deathblow.’
‘I just need to recoup a percentage of my weekly income and get used to the idea I no longer have a voice in my home province,’ he wrote.
A statement was released by the newspaper group as to the reasons for de Adder’s departure
Wes Tyrell, President of the Association of Canadian Cartoonists, claimed de Adder was fired after 17 years with Brunswick News Inc. because Donald Trump was a ‘taboo subject’ for the company.
‘Although he has stated there was no reason given for his firing, the timing was no coincidence,’ Tyrell said in a lengthy statement on Facebook. ‘Michael de Adder has drawn many well-documented cartoons on Trump, they have however, systematically never been seen in the New Brunswick papers.’
‘de Adder’s Trump cartoons didn’t appear in the newspaper but they were viewed all across social media. His cartoon of June 26 couldn’t be ignored. The trope of political figures golfing and showing disdain for issues has been seen before, but deAdder’s take hit a nerve. It went viral and social media stars like George Takei even shared it. For a brief period de Adder was the poster boy for the Anti-Trump movement. A good place to be if you’re a cartoonist, but a bad place to be if you work for a foreign oil company with business ties to the United States,’ Tyrell wrote.