Prominent Twitter users, including Elon Musk and others, torched satire site “The Onion” this week after it made a post depicting Disney character “Goofy” brutally murdering Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.
Users ripped the bizarre and bloody post for being “jarringly unfunny,” “gross,” and “irresponsible.”
In an attempt at commentary on DeSantis’ ongoing legal fight against Disney – the company has filed a lawsuit against DeSantis, accusing him of leader of orchestrating a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” against it – The Onion portrayed classic character Goofy murdering the governor in a political cartoon.
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“The Onion” made a satirical post Friday depicting a beloved Disney character murdering Gov. Ron Desantis, R-Fla.
Published to the site’s “News in Photos” vertical, the poorly photoshopped image depicted Goofy covered in blood while holding a blood-soaked crowbar. The character was standing in what seemed to be a fancy suburban home living room, clearly positioned over the body he beat to death.
The title for the graphic image clarified what exactly readers were looking at. It stated, “Goofy Beats Ron DeSantis To Death With Crowbar.”
In less than 24 hours gruesome photo was viewed nearly six million times on Twitter and liked by 62 thousand people.
Though not everyone found the image amusing. Many users found the image mean-spirited, unfunny, and remarked that if conservatives had made an image with a character murdering a Democrat leader, they would be canceled.
Elon Musk ripped the image on Saturday, tweeting, “The Onion has become jarringly unfunny. At the heart of humor is a revealed truth, but woke is a lie, so it is humorless.”
Conservative columnist Tim Young claimed, “If this were a Republican joking about killing a Democrat… there would be a media s***storm, protests and non-stop crying from the left until The Onion was canceled.”
Conservative influencer “ALX” mentioned the double standards showcased in people supporting this gruesome post while hating posts made by conservative satire site, The Babylon Bee.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis headlines the New Hampshire GOP’s annual fundraising gala, on April 14, 2023 in Manchester, NH (Fox News)
He tweeted, “The same people who were outraged at @TheBabylonBee for telling the truth about ‘Rachel Levine’ will have no problem with this Tweet from The Onion.”
Daily Caller reporter Nicole Silverio commented, “Imagine if a conservative made this sort of joke about a Democrat.”
Newsbusters managing editor Curtis Houck similarly noted, “If The Onion did this with a Transformer and, say, Gretchen Whitmer or Gavin Newsom, Oliver Darcy, Ben Collins, Brandy, Irish Brian Stelter, and the whole crew would be freaking out.”
Breitbart News’ Brandon Darby admonished the outlet, stating, “Irresponsible in today’s political climate. You’ve lost your way.”
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National Libertarian Party Chair Angela McCardle wasn’t fond of the post. She tweeted, “The Onion went downhill over 10 years ago when it was taken over by Clinton-loving joyless scolds. I’m not offended by a bloody Goofy joke. It’s just not funny. @TheBabylonBee has replaced The Onion.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year gained control over a board that oversees aspects of Disney World. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)