The puppet's likeness to Rashford along with the timing of the decision to feature him have been questioned
The creators of Spitting Image are facing a social media backlash after offering viewers a glimpse of their Marcus Rashford caricature puppet ahead of the release of the rebooted satirical show's second season.
"Let the chaos begin," read a tweet from the show's official Twitter account, confirming that Series 2 will be available to stream in September. The tweet featured images of puppets of England manager Gareth Southgate along with two of his players: Harry Kane and Rashford.
https://twitter.com/SpittingImage/status/1418488556201209856
Aside from the fact the puppet looks absolutely nothing like the Manchester United forward, the timing of the decision to target him was also questioned by many of those who saw it.
https://twitter.com/BeardedGenius/status/1418937324256247820
Rashford has been
on the receiving end of racist abuse on multiple occasions in the last few months - including in the fallout from his penalty miss in the final of Euro 202o earlier this month.
Many pointed to this, along with the fact he has successfully campaigned to change government policy on free school meals. This makes it all the more strange that a satirical show would choose to focus on him.
https://twitter.com/AlexWatt187/status/1418934412331397121
https://twitter.com/EstibalizTerron/status/1418923711860707333
https://twitter.com/SpillerOfTea/status/1418916489344831494
https://twitter.com/soapyxxx/status/1418943200283222031
The original version of Spitting Image ran in the 1980s and 90s when it was enormously popular. The first series of the revived show first aired last year.
Its decision to include climate change activist Greta Thunberg amongst the public figures being mocked on the show was also condemned,
prompting its producers to respond.
