Indy Star takes heat over cartoon that criticizes Kavanaugh accuser

An editorial cartoon published by The Indianapolis Star that mocks Christine Blasey Ford—who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault—drew a flood of complaints on social media Monday, prompting an explanation from the newspaper.

In a column posted Monday that didn’t contain a direct apology, Star Executive Editor Ronnie Ramos said the comic by conservative Star cartoonist Gary Varvel “did not meet our high standards.”

The Star “has a responsibility to promote a civil discourse and to present diverse viewpoints in a way that does not demean or appear to belittle anyone who says they are the victim of a sexual assault,” Ramos wrote. “Our readers deserved better in this case.”

The cartoon was first published in the Sunday print edition of The Star and then removed from the newspaper’s website.

This is a disgrace. I’ve come to expect the worst from Gary Varvel, but never making light of sexual assault. @indystar should have never printed this and should condemn it now. This discredits and disrespects the great journalists that work there, let alone victims of assault pic.twitter.com/46MIcLVXfT

— Adam Burtner (@Adam_Burtner) September 24, 2018

In it, Ford is depicted in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and tells the panel: “Here are my demands. No questions from lawyers, dim the lights, I want roses, sparkling water, a bowl of green M&Ms…”

Ford, who accuses Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when the two were teenagers in Maryland more than 35 years ago, is scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. She initially declined to testify until the panel agreed to several requests, including a three-delay for the hearing and that Kavanaugh not be present during her testimony.

Ford’s attorneys said she required the conditions to ensure her safety and the fairness of the proceeding. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the accusations.

Varvel did not immediately reply Monday night to requests for comment from IBJ about the cartoon or The Star’s decision to remove it from the website.

In his column, Ramos said the intent of cartoon was not to attack Ford. He included an explanation from Varvel.

“My cartoon was focused only on Ford's demands, not on whether she was telling the truth,” Varvel said. “This is a point I should have made clearer in my cartoon. As a husband and father of a daughter and granddaughters, I take sexual harassment very seriously.”

Twitter, Facebook and other media outlets erupted with hundreds of mostly negative posts about the cartoon, calling it insensitive and offensive. Some readers called on the Star to fire Varvel. Others criticized Ramos’ column, with one calling it a “half-assed non-apology.”

“Don't really know what @indystar is thinking publishing this Gary Varvel cartoon,” said a Twitter comment from Kathleen O’Malley. “Since when is alleged sexual abuse a joking matter?”

The outrage left some Star reporters in the unusual position of distancing themselves from a colleague's work. Reporter Ryan Martin said he was seeing “a lot of anger on Twitter about the cartoon.”

“I want to emphasize a small point that is not always clear: what is placed in the opinion pages of @indystar goes through a different process than what's placed in the news pages,” Martin tweeted. “The news team I'm on had nothing to do with Sunday's cartoon (or any opinion column, toon, etc).”

Reporter John Tuohy said dislike for the cartoon was widespread in the newsroom.

“Lots of @indystar staffers very upset at a @varvel cartoon that belittled accuser in the Kavanaugh SCOTUS confirmation fight,” Tuohy tweeted. “Editor says it shouldn't have been published and promises closer review of future toons.”

The incident isn’t the first time a Varvel cartoon led to an apology from The Star.

In 2014, readers accused Varvel of racism for a cartoon that depicted Latino immigrants climbing through the window of a white family’s home during Thanksgiving dinner. “Thanks to the president’s immigration order, we’ll be having extra guests this Thanksgiving,” one of the family members said.

Jeff Taylor, The Star's editor at the time, later said publishing the cartoon was “inappropriate.”

In defending The Star, Ramos pointed out the newspaper's investigation into USA Gymnastics, which helped lead to the sexual assault convictions of longtime team physician Dr. Larry Nassar.

"As the executive editor of The Star, I am very proud of the work Indy Star journalists have done over the past two years, being at the national forefront of giving voice to sexual assault victims and exposing wrongdoing with our investigation of USA Gymnastics," he wrote. "We will continue to work vigilantly and thoughtfully to earn your respect."

Not all readers expressed outrage at the cartoon. Former longtime Star staffer Ruth Holladay said Varvel's job calls for him to upset people from time to time.

"He’s doing his job," she tweeted. "Raising hackles, getting people pissed off. Nasser was a story driven by investigative journalism and based on evidence. Editorial cartoonists or illustrators are opinion columnists who work with images. He is paid to have a perspective."