Hundreds of newspapers across the country will stop running a “Dilbert” comic strip after its creator said in a YouTube livestream that black people are a “hateful group” and that white people should “get the hell away” from them.
The creator, Scott Adams, was behind the widely syndicated comic strip mocking office culture, and was widely condemned for his comments by the newspapers that printed his work over the years.
The USA TODAY network, which publishes more than 200 newspapers, said it will no longer publish the ‘Dilbert’ comic due to its creator’s latest discriminatory comments.
The Los Angeles Times said on Saturday it was suspending publication of the comic strip because of his racist comments. Chris Quinn, Editor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mr. Adams said he engaged in a “racist rant” that prompted the newspaper to drop “Dilbert.”
“It was not a difficult decision,” Mr. Quinn said.
Other newspapers that have said they will discontinue the comic strip include The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The San Antonio Express-News and MLive Media Group, which has eight outlets in Michigan.
“We have decided not to publish the ‘Dilbert’ comic strip in our international print edition following Scott Adams’ racist comments,” said Daniel Rhodes Ha, a spokesman for The New York Times. He said the comic only appeared in the international print edition, not the American edition of The Times or online.
Mr. Adams declined to be interviewed, saying in a speech Saturday that “everything you need to hear” is on YouTube.
Inside the media industry
On the show on Saturday, he defended his views. He said the repeal was wrong, that “you have to be absolutely racist whenever it’s in your favor” and that any change in society, including changing tax codes, is “racist change”.
He seemed to be calculating a rapid decline, saying that “most of my income will be gone in the next week” and “my reputation is ruined for the rest of my life.”
Andrews McMeel Syndication, the company that syndicates “Dilbert,” did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday night.
In the Tuesday video that sparked the backlash, Mr. Adams said she “started identifying as black” several years ago. poll Rasmussen reports that 53 percent of black Americans agree with the statement that “it’s okay to be white.”
Rasmussen Reports did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Saturday about its data.
Mr. Adams said in the video.
“It’s a hate group, and I don’t want anything to do with them,” he said, adding, “There’s no point in helping black Americans if you’re white.”
The editor of The Plain Dealer Mr. Quinn described the comments as “a string of shocking statements, all but certain to cost him his livelihood.”
“I hate to quote him, but I do so to prevent responses that this is a ‘cancel culture’ decision,” Mr. Quinn said.
Having crafted satirical commentaries on the workplace for newspapers across America for three decades, Mr. Adams has previously faced criticism for his extremist views and online provocations.
In 2019, Gilroy used a mass shooting at the Garlic Festival in California to promote an app he developed.
San Francisco Chronicle reported It stopped carrying “Dilbert” months ago because he joked about compensation and efforts to diversify the workplace.
“His piece ranged from hilarious to offensive and vulgar,” said Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, editor-in-chief of The Chronicle. “Very few readers noticed when we killed it, and we only had a handful of complaints.”
Darren Bell was the first black artist to win a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooningDespite the cancellation of “Dilbert,” Mr. Adams’ comments show a growing tolerance in America for racist behavior.
“Scott Adams is not unique in shame,” said Mr. Bell said. “His racism is not unique even among cartoonists.”
