WASHINGTON, DC, USA – Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes has announced her resignation from The Washington Post, citing editorial censorship over a cartoon that depicted billionaires—including Jeff Bezos, the paper’s owner—kneeling before President-elect Donald Trump.
Telnaes revealed her decision in a Substack post, describing the incident as a significant breach of editorial independence.
In her controversial cartoon, Telnaes criticized prominent corporate leaders, including Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Patrick Soon-Shiong, for their alleged attempts to curry favour with Trump.
The image reportedly portrayed the billionaires kneeling and presenting bags of money to a towering figure, symbolizing their alignment with the incoming administration.
The Spark: Bezos and Corporate Donations
The cartoon followed reports that Bezos dined at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and that Amazon contributed $2 million – $1 million in cash, $1 million in kind – to Trump’s inauguration, aligning with donations from other tech giants such as Apple and Facebook.
Telnaes’ cartoon was meant to highlight these interactions and their implications for corporate influence over politics.
Editorial Pushback
Telnaes claims that The Washington Post killed the cartoon, marking the first time in her career that a piece was spiked due to its target.
“I have never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now,” Telnaes wrote.
She criticised the decision as a failure to uphold the free press and accused the paper’s ownership of undermining its journalistic integrity.
In response, The Washington Post Opinions editor David Shipley defended the decision, stating that the rejection was not about content but redundancy.
“We had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column—a satire—for publication. The only bias was against repetition,” Shipley told The New York Times.
Fallout and Public Reaction
The incident has reignited concerns over The Washington Post‘s independence under Bezos’ ownership.
Critics argue that the billionaire’s growing ties to Trump and Big Tech’s substantial inauguration donations raise questions about impartiality.
The backlash has been fierce.
Norman Ornstein of The Atlantic mocked the paper’s slogan, tweeting, “Democracy dies at The Washington Post.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren shared the cartoon draft and added, “Big Tech executives are bending the knee to Donald Trump and it’s no surprise why: Billionaires like Jeff Bezos like paying a lower tax rate than a public school teacher.”
This episode follows prior controversies at The Washington Post, including Bezos’ decision to block the editorial board’s endorsement of Kamala Harris during the presidential campaign.
That decision led to resignations from two columnists, two editorial board members, and a significant loss of subscriptions.
Telnaes’ Departure
For Telnaes, the censorship was a breaking point. “Owners of press organizations must safeguard free expression, not undermine it to gain favor with those in power,” she wrote.
Despite Shipley’s explanation, the cartoonist viewed the decision as emblematic of broader challenges to journalistic integrity in the age of billionaire ownership.
The cartoon itself, although unpublished, has gone viral on social media, amplifying the criticism of Bezos and The Washington Post’s editorial policies.
The episode has underscored ongoing debates about media independence, corporate influence, and the role of the press in holding power to account.
