Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Rosan-Jones to sue VINO for offensive cartoon

Rosan-Jones to sue VINO for offensive cartoon

Local activist Cindy Rosan-Jones is planning to start legal proceedings against the Julian Willock-owned Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) for a derogatory cartoon representation of her published this week.

The offensive cartoon, which was later removed after receiving overwhelmingly negative feedback from readers, portrayed Rosan-Jones as mentally disturbed, among other things.

“It was very distasteful. This is not the first time VINO has done a cartoon on me but this one was definitely an attack on me personally,” Rosan-Jones said.

The news site claimed the cartoon was misinterpreted. It further said this was the first time one of its cartoons, which many deemed offensive, was removed from the website.

However, Rosan-Jones is not buying into the explanation.

“They said they retracted it but they have not apologised to me. So, my position on it stands and I have spoken with my attorney and we will be moving forward with legal proceedings on VINO,” the local activist said.

Recurring attack


Rosan-Jones said VINO’s attack on her image has been going on for roughly a year and it usually intensifies when she criticises the sitting Virgin Islands Party (VIP) government.

“Whenever I make a strong point and they (VINO) feel like it’s something that has a lot of negative attraction or attention to the government — because the paper defends the VIP — they put out a lot of negative stories and allow certain negative blogs in the comments,” she said.

“So, it is not the first time for me but VINO has been trying really hard to paint a bad picture of me and bring my reputation into disrepute. So, with the cartoon, it came to an end for me. That was the final straw,” the political activist added.

Two HOA members criticises VINO for cartoon


Two members of the House of Assembly (HOA) had criticised VINO for the ‘distasteful’ cartoon when they made their contributions to an unrelated HOA debate about the news site’s owner, Willock.

Territorial At-Large Representative and Junior Minister of Trade, Shereen Flax-Charles said her “blood ran cold” when she saw the cartoon on the website. She said it was shocking to see the mockery made of mental illness and the misogyny present in the publication.

Meanwhile, Works Minister and the Fifth District Representative, Kye Rymer also criticised VINO for its off-putting caricature of Rosan-Jones.

More legislators should have disapproved


Rosan-Jones said she was not shocked to see the situation addressed in parliament. However, she is displeased to see the issue not being brought up by more members of the HOA.

“I am disappointed it hasn’t been addressed by more members which means that the atrocious behaviour of the Speaker — since he owns VINO — is supported by his colleagues. That is what I get from the silence of the members of the House of Assembly,” Rosan-Jones said.

Controversial Speaker


The controversial Speaker of the House has been at the centre of parliamentary debates in the House of Assembly in recent times.

Premier Andrew Fahie successfully moved a motion to form a committee that will ultimately decide if taxpayers will foot the bill for Willock’s legal fees of up to $121,000 for a failed court injunction against three Commission of Inquiry attorneys.

Rosan-Jones is staunchly against government passing the burden of Willock’s fees to taxpayers and organised a protest this week to express those concerns.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×