Cartoonist overwhelmed by response to "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day"
By JAMIE GRISWOLD
Apr 25, 2010 - 2:11 pm
After a Seattle artist's cartoon went viral, she says she's not going with it.
Molly Norris drew up a sketch declaring May 20th "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" after Comedy Central cut a portion of a South Park episode following a death threat from a radical Muslim group.
Norris explained her motivation on an appearance on KIRO Radio's Dave Ross show. "As a cartoonist I just felt so much passion about what had happened I wanted to kind of counter Comedy Central's message they sent about feeling afraid."
Producers of South Park had announced Thursday that Comedy Central removed a speech about intimidation and fear from their show after a radical Muslim group warned that they could be killed for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
The group said it wasn't threatening South Park producers Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but it included a gruesome picture of Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004, and said the producers could meet the same fate. The website posted the addresses of Comedy Central's New York office and the California production studio where South Park is made.
The momentum drawn from Norris' cartoon was more than the artist had anticipated and by Sunday Norris had posted the following message on her website:
"I am NOT involved in "Everybody Draw Mohammd Day!" I made a cartoon that went viral and I am not going with it. Many other folks have used my cartoon to start sites, etc. Please go to them as I am a private person who draws stuff"
On her website Norris originally explained the campaign was not meant to disrespect any religion, but rather meant to protect people's right to express themselves.
In her present post Norris directs those interested in submitting drawings to the other sites who've taken up the campaign.
Islam
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments