Homophobic slur against gay politician enrages GLAAD
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a US group that monitors media representation, has protested against a cartoon lampooning former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey.
The cartoon refers to the minor scandal surrounding the release of compromising photos of the current Miss New Jersey, Amy Polumbo.
There were attempts to blackmail her over the images, which had appeared on social networking site Facebook.
Mr McGreevey shot to international fame in 2004 when he declared at a press conference, “I am a gay American,” as his wife looked on supportively.
He resigned three months later when it emerged he was having an affair with a male state employee.
The McGreevey’s later split and then embarked on a series of acrimonious claims and counter-claims played out across TV talk shows and in the books both of them published.
The offending cartoon, reproduced below, was published in the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid newspaper the New York Post on Monday.
It depicts former Governor McGreevey envisioning himself to be “the rightful Miss New Jersey” and blackmailing Amy Polumbo.
Clad in a bikini, high-heels, crown, and sash, McGreevey stands in a room holding a threat letter while a man waiting in bed is spotlighted in the background, smoking a post-coital cigarette.
“This not the first time that the New York Post has provided space for cartoonist Sean Delonas to perpetuate dehumanising anti-gay stereotypes,” said a GLAAD spokesperson.
“Two days after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in favour of same-sex civil unions in October 2006, Delonas depicted a man carrying a sheep and wearing a veil in front of a marriage licence window.
“On October 5th, in the wake of the Mark Foley scandal, Delonas illustrated Jim McGreevey comforting Foley while a sheep lay in bed in the background.”
GLAAD want people who are offended by the cartoon to contact Colin Myler, managing editor of the New York Post, and Sean Delonas.
“Let them know what you think about their continued reliance on defamatory anti-gay stereotypes,” the spokesman continued.
“Tell them it’s unacceptable for the New York Post to continue serving as a platform for tasteless anti-gay bigotry.”
Click here for more details of how to contact the New York Post.
