“Dilbert” comic strip creator Scott Adams faced a backlash of cancellations Saturday as he defended remarks he made describing people who are Black as members of “a racist hate group” from which white people should “get away.”
Publishers across the United States, including the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, denounced the comments by Dilbert creator Scott Adams and said they no longer will provide a platform for his work, canceling the long-running comic strip that pokes fun at office and workplace culture.
“The Chicago Tribune is dropping the comic strip ‘Dilbert’ due to racist remarks from creator Scott Adams,” the Tribune said in a story posted Saturday. “The change will take effect with Monday’s print edition. A replacement strip will be named by the Tribune soon.”
Andrews McMeel Syndication, which distributes Dilbert, did not respond to requests for comment.
Adams, 65, who’s white, defended himself on social media against those he said “hate me and are canceling me.”
The backlash began after an episode this past week of Adams’s YouTube show “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.” Among other topics, Adams referred to a Rasmussen Reports survey that had asked whether people agreed with the statement, “It’s OK to be white.”
Most agreed, but Adams noted that 26% of Black respondents disagreed and that others weren’t sure.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the phrase was popularized in 2017 as a trolling campaign by members of the discussion forum 4chan but then began being used by some white supremacists.
Adams 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 current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people,” Adams said Wednesday on his online show.
In another episode of his online show Saturday, Adams said he had been making a 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 who are fine,” Adams said.
The Los Angeles Times cited Adams’ “racist comments” in announcing Saturday that Dilbert will be discontinued Monday in most editions and that its final run in the Sunday comics — which are printed in advance — will be March 12.
The San Antonio Express-News, which is part of Hearst Newspapers, said Saturday it will drop the Dilbert comic strip as of Monday “because of hateful and discriminatory public comments by its creator.”
The USA Today Network, whose newspapers include the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, tweeted Friday that it will stop publishing Dilbert “due to recent discriminatory comments by its creator.”
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and other publications that are part of Advance Local media also announced 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 home for those who espouse racism. 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 into hate speech, a line must be drawn,” Kelly wrote.
In recent years, Adams — who during his streaming show acknowledged that his latest comments certainly would tank his career — also has made other controversial remarks, including tweeting in January 2022 about his plan to “self-identify as a Black woman.”
