Otago Daily Times

The South Island paper was forced to apologise for the cartoon - drawn by Kiwi cartoonist Garrick Tremain - which shows two women exiting a travel agency with the caption: "I asked what are the least popular spots at the moment? She said the ones people are picking up in Samoa."  

An "unprecedented" number of complaints were submitted to the Media Council as the ODT faced backlash throughout the country, including from Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon, for making a joke out of the measles crisis.

The cartoonist is under fire after his most recent work was labeled racist and insensitive for making light of Samoa's measles crisis.

About 40 people gathered outside of the Otago Daily Times' office this afternoon to protest the cartoon and Mr Tremain's ongoing employment by the newspaper.

Editor Barry Stewart addressed the protesters a short time ago, telling them Mr Tremain will not feature in the pages of the paper while a review is underway.

He apologised for hurt caused to the Samoan community and took responsibility for the cartoon being published.

Garrick Tremain's cartoon for the Otago Daily Times sparked an immediate backlash online - being labelled racist, heartless and insensitive.

The newspaper apologised for publishing the cartoon which it said was a deeply regrettable error in judgement. "The content and the timing of the cartoon were insensitive," Otago Daily Times editor Barry Stewart wrote.

It shows two people walking out of a travel agent and one remarking that the least popular spots right now are the ones people are picking up in Samoa.