The new cover of the French satirical magazine shows Queen Elizabeth pressing her knee against Meghan Markle’s neck.
The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has come under fire after publishing a controversial cover, which several social media users have called racist and disgusting.
The cover shows Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom pressing her knee against Meghan Markle’s neck, with the caption: “Why Meghan Left Buckingham.”
Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry’s wife, is seen lying on the ground saying, “Because I couldn’t breathe anymore.”
The cartoon mimics the scene in which George Floyd, an African American, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last May. Videos shared online at the time showed Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd begged for his life, telling him he couldn’t breathe and then stopped moving.
Floyd’s murder sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter protests across the United States against police brutality and racial injustice, with protesters taking to the streets in cities around the world in solidarity. Minneapolis agreed this week to pay Floyd’s family $ 27 million to settle a lawsuit over this death.
Markle is biracial; his mother is black and his father is white. After getting married in 2018, Markle and Prince Harry gave up their royal duties and now live in California.
In an interview broadcast last week, Markle told Oprah Winfrey why she and Prince Harry gave up their royal duties. She accused an anonymous member of the royal family of making racist comments, saying that concerns were conveyed to her husband about how dark their son Archie’s skin would be prior to his birth.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement this week that the issues raised in the interview were “troubling” and that the royal family would address them in private.
Discussion of the cover was widespread on Twitter on Saturday, with several users calling it offensive.
Dr Halima Begum, CEO of the Runnymede Trust, a UK-based group of racial equality experts, said the cover was “wrong on every level”.
#CharlieHebdo, this is wrong on all levels. The queen like #GeorgeFloydDoes the killer crush Meghan’s neck? #Meghan saying you can’t breathe? This does not push the limits, make anyone laugh or challenge #racism. It degrades problems and causes offenses in all areas. pic.twitter.com/ptNXs8RtuS
– Dr. Halima Begum (@Halima_Begum) March 13, 2021
Is this the freedom of expression that Charlie Hebdo is so passionate about? Are racism, disrespect, and offense masquerading as satire? Sorry, but not Je suis for me. This is nothing more than racist bigotry and incitement to hatred. Make it better with your platform and grow. pic.twitter.com/Id6hL53p2G
– Yasmeen (@yasminnoir) March 13, 2021
Aurelien Mondon, a senior lecturer in politics at the University of Bath, said the magazine “is a racist rag and has been for a long time.”
Charlie Hebdo is a racist rag and has been for a long time
Saying so does not mean condoning the 2015 attacks or being against freedom of expression. It simply means being against racism.
To ignore it is to be an accomplice and it plays right in the hands of all those who seek to divide us
– Aurelien Mondon (@aurelmondon) March 13, 2021
Without getting too into this Charlie Hebdo debate again, if you have to continually explain that your “satire” is not racist and does not hit, then it is not a very good satire, no matter what tradition it is. comes from, French or not.
– Oz Katerji (@OzKaterji) March 13, 2021