"It is the job of a political cartoon to vex those who abuse power or enable those abuses," writes Carrey in a reaction to the backlash against his latest artwork.

Jim Carrey is standing by his controversial painting of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in the wake of conservative backlash. The comedian shared his portrait of Sanders on March 17 via Twitter with the accompanying caption: “This is the portrait of a so-called Christian whose only purpose in life is to lie for the wicked. Monstrous!”

The painting sparked outrage from some Carrey fans and many conservatives. Mike Huckabee, Sanders’ father, took to Twitter himself to condemn Carrey for depicting his daughter in such an unflattering way. Huckabee called Carrey a “pathetic bully,” as well as “sexist,” a “bigot,” and a “hater.”

Pathetic BULLY, sexist, hater, bigot & “Christaphobe” @jimcarrey attacks @PressSec for her faith; what would be hypocritical Hollywood reaction if he called someone a “so-called Muslim” or “so-called Jew?” #classlessCarrey https://t.co/HCqHoER0Ru — Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) March 19, 2018

Carrey stayed silent as the backlash continued to grow over several days, but he’s officially broken his silence on the painting in a statement to The Young Turks. The comedian says he is “gratified” by the response to his artwork and says that the painting did its job as a political cartoon quite well.

“I am so gratified by the reaction to my little drawings,” Carrey said. “It is the job of a political cartoon to vex those who abuse power or enable those abuses. This administration has been lying to the American people from day one while plundering the country and debasing our values. And those who cover for this shameful mobster of a President are putting makeup on a melanoma and telling the cancer patient that everything’s fine. Monstrous? You bet!”

A couple days after posting the Sanders painting, Carrey shared another politically-charged artwork depicting Donald Trump as the Wicked Witch of the West.

This is the portrait of a so-called Christian whose only purpose in life is to lie for the wicked. Monstrous! pic.twitter.com/MeYLTy1pqb — Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) March 17, 2018

If you liked my last cartoon you may also enjoy… “THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST WING AND PUTIN’S FLYING MONKEYS“ pic.twitter.com/slBG7j1s8d — Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) March 19, 2018

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