Popular Facebook vlogger Nas Daily has defended a Times of Malta cartoonist who was targeted by Valletta 2018 chairman Jason Micallef over a gruesome cartoon depicting the recent tourist bus accident in Żurrieq. 

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Nas praised Seb Tanti Burlo for making reference in his cartoon to the ‘Oh My Malta!’ slogan – that was popularised by Nas himself and will soon become Malta’s official tourism slogan. 

“To the artist, I want to say thank you because in a way it is an appropriate use of the tagline in a sense that it has gotten people to think, and that’s a good thing,” Nas said. “As shallow or overly positive hyped as the tagline may seem, it is not. It has a deeper meaning, it can be used negatively and that is a good thing. Please, use it negatively, use it pessimistically and use it aggressively like the artist did. It encourages thought and that is good.”

Tanti Burlo’s controversial cartoon drew the ire of Jason Micallef, who urged the Times of Malta to sack the cartoonist, drawing parallels with how Sky recently suspended pundit Jamie Carragher after he was caught spitting at a football fan’s car. 

“If the Times of Malta has a shred of decency and respect towards its readers, then it must suspend or sack Seb Tanti Burlo,” Micallef said. “This caricature is vile, horrendous, heartless and cruel no matter which way you look at it. This is where hatred gets you.”

The Valletta 2018 Foundation’s executive director Catherine Tabone called out Tanti Burlo for his “appalling insensitivity”, while the Foundation’s technical coordinator Sandro Kitcher claimed the cartoon was born out of Tanti Burlo’s hatred of the Labour Party.

Tanti Burlo explained that his cartoon was not intended as a joke but rather to provoke and appall people. a

“This scribble I did is disgusting. It is offensive. It is crass and everything you said it is,” he said. “It should offend you because this situation is offensive. Be angry at the situation.Not at me.”

What did you make of the controversial cartoon?

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]