Several US publishers have dropped the long-running Dilbert cartoon strip after its creator Scott Adams became embroiled in a race row.
Adams faced a backlash after a video emerged online where he describes black people as members of “a hate group” and says that white people should “get the hell away” from them.
Dilbert is a long-running comic that pokes fun at workplace culture and often features in US newspapers.
News organisations including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times have announced they will no longer publish the comic following the comments.
The USA Today Network tweeted that it will also stop publishing Dilbert “due to recent discriminatory comments by its creator.”
The backlash began after Adams made the controversial remarks during an episode of his YouTube show “Real Coffee With Scott Adams” this week.
During the show, Adams referenced 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 per cent of black respondents disagreed while others were unsure.
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 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 on his Wednesday show.
In another episode of his online show, 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.
