Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

‘Wrong on every level’: Charlie Hebdo condemned for ‘disgusting’ cartoon making fun of royals, Meghan Markle and George Floyd

‘Wrong on every level’: Charlie Hebdo condemned for ‘disgusting’ cartoon making fun of royals, Meghan Markle and George Floyd

Notorious French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has published a new cover making fun of Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle, and George Floyd at once. Amid the outrage, some liberals demanded blood.

"Why Meghan Markle left Buckingham Palace,” read the cover of this week’s Charlie Hebdo, followed by the punchline, uttered by Markle: “Because I couldn’t breathe.” The illustration depicts Markle pinned under the hairy knee of a smiling Queen Elizabeth II, with the pose and punchline a reference to George Floyd, a black man who died under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis last summer. “I can’t breathe” were Floyd’s last words.


The cover sparked outrage. “This is wrong on every level,” Halima Begum, director of a UK anti-racism think-tank, tweeted, adding that “this doesn’t push boundaries, make anyone laugh or challenge #racism. It demeans the issues & causes offence, across the board.”

“This is some white supremacist bulls**t,” tweeted a British group called Black and Asian Lawyers for Justice. The group accused Charlie Hebdo of “pimping #GeorgeFloyd trauma for profit,” and publishing “outrageous, disgusting, fascistic racism.”


The cartoon had its defenders, too. Some argued that Charlie Hebdo’s purpose in the first place is to offend, and others claimed that the cartoon’s actual target was the alleged racism of the royal family, which Prince Harry and Markle claimed in a recent interview to have been on the receiving end of.


Charlie Hebdo, to put it extremely mildly, is no stranger to controversy. 12 people were killed in 2015 when Islamist gunmen attacked the magazine’s Paris offices, in revenge for its publication of satirical images of the Prophet Mohammed. A group affiliated with Al-Qaeda took responsibility for the attack.

The 2015 shooting led to worldwide protests and shows of solidarity for Charlie Hebdo and its right to offend, organized under the slogan “Je Suis Charlie.” This time around, some outraged commenters proved themselves almost as fanatical as the terrorists, who one argued “should have finished the job.”



The cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo likely welcome the outrage. A week after their offices were attacked and their colleagues murdered, they published another image of Mohammed, this time holding a sign reading “Je Suis Charlie,” along with the text “Tout Est Pardon” (All is Forgiven). Since then, the magazine has drawn backlash for making fun of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, drowned Syrian migrants, Italian earthquake victims, and Russian air crash victims, among others.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
×