The cartoon went viral in September 2018 drawing a global criticism . The National Association of Black Journalists in the US denounced it as “repugnant on many levels”.
Public complaints centred around the portrayal of Williams with “large lips, a broad flat nose… and [being] positioned in an ape-like pose”, said the watchdog.
This contrasted with the depiction of Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother Japanese, “as white with blonde hair”.
However, the watchdog ruled that the cartoon did “not depict Ms. Williams as an ape, rather showing her as ‘spitting the dummy’, a non-racist caricature familiar to most Australian readers”.
In a ruling published Monday, the Australian Press Council said it “acknowledged that some readers found the cartoon offensive” but said there was sufficient public interest in commenting on the behavior of a player with a globally high profile.
“The council considered that the cartoon uses exaggeration and absurdity to make its point but accepts the publisher’s claim that it does not depict Ms Williams as an ape, rather showing her as ‘spitting the dummy’, a non-racist caricature familiar to most Australian readers.”
Spitting the dummy is an Australian colloquialism for someone who reacts to a situation in a bad-tempered or petulant manner.
Knight told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he was “very happy” about the watchdog’s ruling.
The Australian Press Council is the chief watchdog for complaints about Australian media, but does not have the power to issue or enforce penalties.