Leunig axed from The Age after 50 years over anti-Dan Andrews cartoon
<p dir="ltr">Cartoonist Michael Leunig<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/cartoonist-michael-leunig-axed-from-prime-spot-at-the-age-over-offensive-vaccine-image/news-story/3b6b99a4101ebe53df58cb21827df0d4" target="_blank">has been dropped</a><span> </span>from his position as a cartoonist for<span> </span><em>The Age</em><span> </span>over a<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/leunig-cartoon-divides-the-internet" target="_blank">controversial image</a><span> </span>comparing resisting mandatory COVID-19 vaccination to the Tiananmen Square protests.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Leunig shared the cartoon on his Instagram account, with the picture depicting one of his lone ‘everyday man’ characters standing in front of a tank armed with a loaded syringe and the caption “Mandate”.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">The cartoon mimics the iconic “tank man” image of an unidentified Chinese protester standing in front of a column of tanks, with Leunig including the photo in his cartoon.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The image never made it to print in<span> </span><em>The Age</em>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Some speculation about Leunig’s continued role at the newspaper emerged last week, after a statement published in<span> </span><em>The Age</em>’s letters section said it was “trialling new cartoonists”.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845068/leunig1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c595938f095241e6bd21cebb17e03c19" /></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @leunigstudio / Instagram</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">Speaking to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/peter-fitzsimons-a-closed-book-on-lisa-wilkinson-coverage/news-story/fd5acfa9e7f6dc420c38a116177c0bcc" target="_blank">The Australian</a></em>’s columnist Nick Tabakoff, Leunig confirmed that he has been taken off the newspaper’s editorial page position following the emergence of the controversial cartoon.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Leunig told the publication that<span> </span><em>The Age</em>’s editor Gay Alcorn called him to “break the news gently” that his cartoons would no longer feature in the newspaper.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He said he was told he was “out of touch with the readership”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Gay feels this type of cartoon is not in line with public sentiment, and<span> </span><em>The Age</em>’s readership, who it does seem are largely in favour of the Andrews Covid narrative,” he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“But my job is to challenge the status quo, and that has always been the job of the cartoonist.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Leunig - who has had a 50-year-long career as a cartoonist - also claimed that he has had 12 cartoons “censored” this year, “all about Covid and/or Dan Andrews, with next to no explanation”.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845069/leunig2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/9ceb768377dd448f92bbf4b25bc454fb" /></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @leunigstudio / Instagram</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">Leunig defended his reference to the Tiananmen Square image in his cartoon, saying it is often used as a “Charlie Chaplin-like metaphor for an overwhelming force meeting the innocent powerless individual”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It divided fans on his Instagram page, with some describing it as “brilliant” and others saying it was in “pretty bad taste”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The cartoonist has shared a series of images on social media including figures in the likeness of Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, alongside critiques of politicians and the handling of the pandemic by the Victorian government.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845070/leunig3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c3929cca63a44ae8b92ded40dede2168" /></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @leunigstudio / Instagram</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">Ms Alcorn told<span> </span><em>The Australian<span> </span></em>that Leunig was “entitled to be upset” about being let go from the position.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Though she declined to comment further, she told<span> </span><em>news.com.au</em><span> </span>that Leunig was still “employed by us to provide a Saturday cartoon”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Leunig has also faced criticism over past cartoons, including one that compared the Victorian government to fascists following news of a proposal to ban unvaccinated children from childcare centres.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Another controversial cartoon depicting an absent mum has been labelled as “condescending” and upsetting for young mums struggling with raising young children.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @leunigstudio / Instagram</em></p>
