On July 31 [Robert Crumb] received some decidedly negative attention in advance of a visit to Sydney from Australia's The Daily Telegraph, which called Crumb as a "self-confessed sex pervert," quoted unspecified sexual assault crisis groups as saying his work is "sick and deranged" and gave anti-child abuse campaigner Hetty Johnston a platform to demonize Crumb's work as "perverted images emanating from what is clearly a sick mind." Fazed by the rage, Crumb has canceled his upcoming appearance at the August 20-21 Graphic Festival at the Sydney Opera House.
Crumb explained: "I do these crazy cartoons. I have no defence. I just have to throw up my hands." I hope those jackasses are happy, now that they've scared an aged cartoonist away from visiting their country. This is a great moral victory for them. Maybe they'll do something about Australians wearing blackface for the sake of cheap entertainment, next.
