Masaba Gupta's fitting reply to Mark Knight's cartoon of Serena

Mark Knight's cartoon of Serena Williams. Picture courtesy Masaba Gupta's Instagram account.

Mark Knight's cartoon of Serena Williams in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper has faced a barrage of criticism online for being racist. It pokes fun at the tennis player's heated exchanges with umpire Carlos Ramos during the US Open.

Williams was warned for coaching, then docked a point for smashing a racket before Ramos penalised her a game after she called him a liar and a thief. That left the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion one game from defeat and in tears, with Naomi Osaka clinching her first slam title shortly afterwards.

Masaba Gupta

The no-nonsense half-Indian and half-West Indian Masaba Gupta took to Instagram to denounce the stereotyping of women. She wrote, That's exactly right,Mark knight. If it wasn't coming from such a dark,sad place...it was damn right. I am done with the exaggeration of black women in shape,form & mannerism. This is exactly who we all are. Tough,unapologetic & not afraid of being compared with men. Did someone tell you that aggression was reserved only for men? Or that women are meant to be more 'elegant' or 'delicate' about their displeasure? This is not misrepresentation,it is power.Ofcourse,I am biased and why shouldn't I be for someone who has had to endure so much to get here? First,I stand for Naomi Osaka who beat her childhood icon at the US open,at the age of 20. And then, I stand for the racket busting,angry-young woman in the tutu who you are purely intimidated by,because she could crush your skull like that racket lying beneath her. This is not an angry late-night rant,this is exactly how the elegant,polished & powerful women of this day & age feel [sic].

Also read: US Open: Serena Williams partly wrong, says Navratilova

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