Murdoch apologises for cartoon depicting Obama as chimpanzee

MEDIA tycoon Rupert Murdoch has apologised for a cartoon in a US newspaper that appeared to depict President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee.

Printed last week in the New York Post, which is owned by Mr Murdoch’s company, the cartoon showed police over the body of a bullet-riddled chimp with the caption “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill”.

Although meant as a critique of the president’s plan to rescue the economy, the depiction of the president as a primate was met with strong protest from those concerned of its potential racist overtones. In an apology printed in the newspaper yesterday, Mr Murdoch admitted that the cartoon was a “mistake”.