French magazine Charlie Hebdo caused outrage on social media on Saturday because of its front-page drawing of Queen Elizabeth II kneeling on Meghan’s neck, Duchess of Sussex.
A caption in the drawing translates to “Why Meghan left Buckingham.” A bubble quote near Meghan’s head says, “because I couldn’t breathe anymore”.
In the photo, shared on the magazine’s Twitter, a menacing-looking Queen Elizabeth II immobilizes Meghan with her knee. The image is a cartoon recreation of George Floyd’s death when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during a May 25 arrest.
Derek Chauvin has been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and will soon be tried on charges of murder and wrongful death. Three other former police officers involved in the prison are expected to stand trial in August.
Social media users criticized Charlie Hebdo about the draw, with some calling him a racist.
“Words cannot describe how disgusting I found that Charlie Hebdo cover. Poking and constantly drawing racist cartoons is not satire. It’s called being a d —,” wrote a Twitter user.
“Charlie Hebdo is a disgusting newspaper that promotes racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and sexism. For years, he has mocked many serious social issues that exist in the world, while earning millions of dollars,” posted another.
One user said the cover was “absolutely disgusting”.
Some people, however, seemed to defend the publication. One person wrote that the magazine describes itself as a satire publication and is known for its offensive covers.
“Anyone with a brain knows that ALL @Charlie_Hebdo_ covers are * intentionally * provocative. That’s the reason for them. It’s called satire,” said the tweet.
Charlie Hebdo did not respond publicly to criticism and did not immediately return a request for comment on Saturday.
The cartoon comes almost a week after Prince Harry and Meghan sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an explosive interview detailing their reasons for leaving real life.
Among the issues, Meghan said royals expressed “concerns” about how bleak the couple’s children can be. Meghan and Prince Harry welcomed their first child, Archie, in May 2019, and are expecting their second child this summer.
The couple declined to name the person who made the alleged comments, but Winfrey later said that Harry made it clear that it was neither Queen Elizabeth II, her grandmother, nor her husband, Prince Philip.
Prince William denied the charges against the royal family, saying: “We are not a racist family”.
