Charlie Hebdo stokes controversy by depicting Meghan Markle as George Floyd
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The depiction of Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth is eerily similar to what happened to George Floyd, a Black man who died after Derek Chauvin, a White police officer knelt on his neck
Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine from France has sparked outrage yet again after showing England’s Queen Elizabeth kneeling on Meghan Markle’s neck.
The depiction is eerily similar to what happened to George Floyd, a Black man who died after Derek Chauvin, a police officer knelt on his neck. His last words, “I can’t breathe” have become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement which erupted over the last year.
Recently, the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry told Oprah Winfrey that she was subjected to racism within the royal family. Markle also said that she was denied permission to leave Kensington Palace and that she left only twice in four months, which made her suicidal.
Pourquoi Meghan a quitté Buckingham ?
— Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) March 9, 2021
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The cartoon was published on Saturday and is titled “Why Meghan quit”. In the cartoon, Markle is shown as saying - “I couldn’t breathe any more”.
The depiction has drawn fire from people across the globe. Many have accused the satirical of downplaying not only the struggles of Meghan Markle but of vilifying the movement against systemic racism in the US, spurred largely in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.
Prince William, the big brother of Prince Harry recently broke his silence on the accusations of racism. “We’re very much not a racist family”, the Prince said. The Queen, too, wasn’t spared in the cartoon. She was depicted as having red eyes, and hairy legs - a representation that has angered many Royal loyalists.
Charlie Hebdo has been at the centre of debates surrounding freedom of speech and secularism in France, after two brothers attacked the magazine’s headquarters for controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. The attack killed 11 people in 2015, including top editor and some of its leading cartoonists.