A jigsaw artist has branded a games firm woke after it ordered him to remove the St George’s flag from a puzzle.
Mike Jupp, 77, has alleged that he was asked to remove it as part of a diversity and inclusion drive by Gibsons Games.
The puzzle, which was a 1,000-piece set showing a chaotic village life scene, was called ‘I love Spring’.
In it you can see a parade taking place on the road, a village fate going on in the background, as well as a woman taking a bath, a man fixing a roof and tons of animals from cows to sheep to birds.
Mike claimed the 100-year-old family business asked for a busty woman in a bath tub, a bull drooling over a cow in lingerie and a group of Morris dancers, who they assumed were Northern Ireland‘s Orange Order to be removed.
He told MailOnline: ‘I had no problem at all with [the] Gibsons for over 25 years. Then lovely old man Gibson retired and his daughter took over.
‘They made a series of ridiculous demands that not even I could live with, so I told them to shove it and withdrew my licences.’
The award-winning cartoonist also claimed that the suggested changes to make his puzzles ‘less offensive’ needed to ‘apply to my complete back catalogue’.
The puzzle, which was a 1,000-piece set showing a chaotic village life scene, was called ‘I love Spring’
A jigsaw artist has branded a games firm woke after it ordered him to remove the St George’s flag from a puzzle
The family asked that a bull drooling over a cow in lingerie was removed
Mike claimed the 100-year-old family business asked for a busty woman in a bath tub to be removed
A group of Morris dancers, who they assumed were Northern Ireland ‘s Orange Order, was also asked to be removed
He agreed to the request but has since has now stopped working with Gibsons after claiming he felt ‘disrespected’ by the changes.
He told the Sun: ‘Telling a cartoonist how to depict humour is as disrespectful as it is infuriating.
‘This is a reflection of a tiny minority of society that has a problem.’
He joked that he suggested ‘they move their HQ a few miles down the road from Sutton to Woking!’
He has since taken up a new puzzle partnership with All Jigsaw Puzzles.
He continued: ‘I’m now working with my new partners AJP (all jigsaw puzzles). A fab but much smaller company based in Devon. I love what I do and it makes people who like my nonsense laugh.’
Kate Gibson, the MD of the business, said: We always endeavour to act in line with our values.
‘We wish Mike all the best for his future endeavours.’
Gibsons Games have been approached for comment.