Boston Herald publishes Obama cartoon with ‘watermelon’ joke
theGRIO REPORT - Tired of anyone making a link between watermelon and America's first black president? So are we. The Boston Herald, however, is not...
Tired of anyone making a link between watermelon and America’s first black president?
So are we.
The Boston Herald, however, is not.
The paper published a cartoon featuring the “White House intruder” taking a bath in President Obama’s “bathroom.” While Obama brushes his teeth, the intruder quips: “Have you tried the new watermelon flavored toothpaste?”
The caption to the cartoon reads: “White House invader got farther than originally thought,” an obvious reference to the actual White House intruder ,Omar Gonzalez.
The Herald apologized for the cartoon in a sort of “sorry if we published something racially insensitive that may have offended you by mistake” kind of way. Here’s the statement from spokesperson Gwen Gage:
Contributors to our Editorial and Opinion pages have the right to express their views, and satire is clearly used in Jerry Holbert’s cartoon today. That said, we sincerely regret if we inadvertently offended anyone and extend our sincere apologies.
Not to be outdone, Jerry Holbert, the cartoon’s creator offered this “apology” to Boston Herald Radio:
It was completely naïve or innocent of any racial suggestion. I wasn’t thinking along those lines at all.
Holbert goes onto add that his best friend is — well no, he didn’t say that. He adds:
I, myself, love watermelon, and I thought that would be a great one.
Some versions of the cartoon have been changed to say “raspberry” instead of watermelon. Holbert maintains that he got the watermelon idea after discovering “a kids Colgate watermelon flavor” in a cupboard.
He would also like to let the world know he is not racist — “definitely not.”
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