They should have been more careful - this is the risk of going for the personal attacks, as people have lives which are nothing to do with politics and not ‘fair game’, but the lines become blurred the more hostile the environment becomes
I didn’t think, when I saw it, that it was homophobic. But I’m not the best judge of that at all. I do think that cartoonists sometimes channel popular images of public figures and may not realise there is a sinister aspect to how someone is being portrayed
And for those saying (including @TheNewEuropean) that he is a ‘cry baby’ therefore it’s fine, I’m not sure that helps or is a particularly classy response. I have had a few wrangles with Owen in past weeks but we really need to play the ball not the man here
Also, even if that was objectively true (and I’m not saying it is), it’s up to all of us to be sensitive to tropes and avoid them. It’s like showing a Jewish businessman as a venal money grabber...
... No doubt there are some who are. But the risk of inflaming antisemitism should outweigh the point scoring potential of portraying him as one in a cartoon
