by The creator of the Dilbert comic strip faced backlash Saturday as he defended remarks describing Black people as members of a “hate group” from which white people should “run away.”
Various media publishers across the US condemned the comments by Dilbert creator Scott Adams as racist, hateful and discriminatory and said they would no longer provide a platform for his work.
Andrews McMeel Syndication, which distributes Dilbert, did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Adams defended himself on social media against the people he said “I hate and are canceling.”
Dilbert is a long-running comic that pokes fun at office culture.
The backlash began after last week’s episode of the YouTube show, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.” Among other things, Adams referenced a Rasmussen Reports survey that asked whether people agreed with the statement “It’s okay to be white.”
Most agreed, but Adams noted that 26% of Black respondents agreed and others were undecided.
The Anti-Defamation League says that the phrase was popularized in 2017 as a trolling campaign by members of the discussion forum 4chan but then began to be used by some white supremacists.
Adams, who is white, repeatedly referred to people who are Black as members of a “hate group” or a “racist hate group” and said he would “no longer help Black Americans”.
“Based on the way things are going right now, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell out of Black people,” Adams said on his show Wednesday.
In another episode of his online show on Saturday, Adams said he was making the point that “everyone should be treated as an individual” without discrimination.
“But you should also avoid any group that doesn’t respect you, even if there are people within the group that are OK,” Adams said.
The Los Angeles Times cited Adams’ “racist comments” in announcing Saturday that Dilbert will end Monday in most editions and that its final run of Sunday comics — which are printed in advance — will be March 12. .
The San Antonio Express-News, part of Hearst Newspapers, said Saturday it will drop the Dilbert comic strip, effective Monday, “due to hateful and discriminatory public comments by its creator.”
USA Today Network tweeted on Friday that it will also stop publishing Dilbert “due to recent discriminatory comments made by its creator.”
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and other publications that are part of Advance Local media also announced that they are dropping Dilbert.
“This is a decision based on the principles of this news organization and the community we serve,” wrote Chris Quinn, editor of The Plain Dealer. “We are not a place to live for those who are racist. We certainly do not want to provide them with financial support.”
Christopher Kelly, vice president of content for NJ Advance Media, wrote that the news organization believes in “the free and fair exchange of ideas.”
“But when those ideas cross over into hate speech, a line must be drawn,” Kelly wrote.
