Singer John Legend has written an open letter to the New York Post - criticizing the editor for running a controversial cartoon featuring the shooting of a chimp.

The R&B star is calling for a boycott of the newspaper following the publication of a picture which shows two police officers standing over the body of a chimpanzee they just shot, with one remarking, 'They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.'

The drawing is a reference to a recent news story about a woman who was mauled by a pet chimpanzee, which was subsequently shot by cops.

But the cartoon has come under fire, with many claiming it is a thinly-veiled mockery of new President Barack Obama, because of the link to the recent stimulus legislation, designed to prop up the U.S. economy.

And Legend was so outraged by the cartoon, he has written an open letter to officials at the paper.

He writes, "I'm trying to understand what possible motivation you may have had for publishing that vile cartoon. I guess you thought it would be funny. Did it occur to you that this suggestion would imply a connection between President Barack Obama and the deranged chimpanzee? Did it occur to you that blacks have historically been compared to various apes as a way of racist insult and mockery?

"You should not have printed this cartoon, and the fact that you did is truly reprehensible."

And Legend goes on to insist that he will be cutting all ties with the publication in future.

He adds, "I'm personally boycotting your paper and won't do any interviews with any of your reporters, and I encourage all of my colleagues in the entertainment business to do so as well."

Officials at the New York Post printed an apology following the outcry over the drawing, claiming the drawing has been "taken as something else" and that "a cartoon is just a cartoon".

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)