UPDATE 1-Ex-NY Post editor sues paper, claims racism, sexism

* Complaint alleges retaliatory firing

* Plaintiff objected to Obama cartoon

* Newspaper says lawsuit lacks merit (Adds comment from New York Post)

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - A former New York Post editor has sued the newspaper and its parent, News Corp (NWSA.O), saying she was fired after complaining about sexism and racism, including a cartoon that appeared to liken U.S. President Barack Obama to a chimpanzee.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Manhattan federal court, said that Sandra Guzman, a black and Puerto Rican associate editor, was fired on Sept. 29 in retaliation for complaints about pervasive racism and sexism at the newspaper.

The lawsuit said Guzman, the "only female editor of color at the Post," was among those who complained about a Feb. 18 cartoon that depicted a policeman shooting a crazed chimpanzee, a play on an actual incident in Connecticut.

The caption read: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." This led many people to view the chimpanzee as a depiction of Obama, who a day earlier had signed into law a $787 billion economic stimulus package.

New York Post Chairman Rupert Murdoch later apologized to readers for the cartoon.