Arab Press

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Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Charlie Hebdo under fake-fire over cover of Queen kneeling on Meghan’s neck

Charlie Hebdo under fake-fire over cover of Queen kneeling on Meghan’s neck

The British double standards and hypocrisy at its best: Charlie Hebdo - the French satirical weekly magazine that the British protected it’s so called free speech to insult prophet Muhammad - has suddenly come under fire for a cover which insulting a much less important historical figure, the English Queen kneeling on Meghan’s neck in a sick parody of George Floyd’s death.

We can all agree that this last one is not really a satire, as racism is what made the British monarch a monarchy to begin with, but Britain cannot protect free speech when it’s insulting others and play their regular fake surprise when people do to them what they are happily doing to others.

Giving to charity a bit of the huge fortune gained by selling slaves in America and smuggling drugs to China is very nice for the future but not enough to forget past crimes against humanity.

This double-standards-playbook can work among old-fashion-brain-washed British subjects but not among any modern people.

The only right way for the British royal family to prove that they are no longer racists is to put their hand into their pocket and pay the descendants of their slavery victims compensation.

It’s not enough to declare “I am not a racist”. The people who’s family got so rich by enslaving others should prove they are not as racist as their roots by paying compensation to the slavery descendants.

To talk by actions, not by words, in a culture where words always means just the opposite...

The French satirical magazine published the caricature on its front page with the headline: "Why Meghan left Buckingham....".


A speech bubble from Meghan reads: “Because I couldn’t breathe anymore.”

George Floyd, who was unarmed, died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes.

In shocking video footage of the incident Mr Floyd said “I can’t breathe” before he died.

His words have become the rallying cry of the Black Lives Matter movement after the alleged murder sparked worldwide protests.


Charlie Hebdo’s cover was widely shared on Twitter on Saturday with many saying it was "utterly appalling".

Dr Halima Begum, the CEO of anti-racism think tank the Runnymede Trust, tweeted the image calling it “wrong on every level”.

She said: "#CharlieHebdo, this is wrong on every level. The Queen as #GeorgeFloyd ‘s murderer crushing Meghan’s neck? #Meghan saying she’s unable to breathe? This doesnt push boundaries, make anyone laugh or challenge #racism. It demeans the issues & causes offence, across the board."


Black and Asian Lawyers For Justice tweeted that the cover was “outrageous, disgusting, fascistic racism” adding that the magazine was “pimping George Floyd’s trauma for profit”.

Another person tweeted: “Words cannot describe just how disgusting I found that Charlie Hebdo cover.

“Punching down and constantly drawing racist caricatures it’s not satire.”

It comes after Meghan Markle claimed an unnamed member of the royal family made remarks about her son Archie’s skin colour before he was born, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying that the allegation of racism, was "concerning", and said the matter would be dealt with privately.

Prince William later denied his family were racist when he was asked during a visit to a school in east London earlier this week.

On Friday, the city of Minneapolis reached a $27 million (£19 million) settlement with George Floyd’s family.

Jury selection for Mr Chauvin’s murder trial, scheduled to start on March 29, is currently under way.

This isn’t the first time Charlie Hebdo has been criticised for its cartoons.

The magazine has taken aim at dozens of political and religious public figures, most famously its depiction of the Prophet Mohammed.

It was described by some as ‘blasphemy’ and blamed for the 2015 terror attack at the magazine’s Paris headquarters, which claimed the lives of 12 people.

Comments

Rosalind Laing 5 year ago
Some people's idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back that is an outrage: Winston Churchill according to Piers Morgan's tweet. Charlie Hebdo specialises in offensive publications. Attacking the Queen and linking Meghan's distress to George Floyd is what one would expect. Why get outraged? The British monarchy throughout my lifetime has atoned for slavery and colonialism by turning an Empire into a Commonwealth and supporting very positively their progress and achievements. And if you think they are racists after the spectacular wedding that Meghan was given by the Royals - I think you are just prejudiced. That wedding was a celebration of black religion and people.

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