Newspapers are dropping the 'Dilbert' comic strip after creator Scott Adams launched into a racist tirade advising white people to "get the f**k" away from Black people. Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the US, said it would stop publishing the comic immediately following comments made by Scott on his online program "Real Coffee with Scott Adams."
It follows the September cancellation of Dilbert by 77 newspapers owing to the cartoon's increasingly contentious plotlines, which included one with a black character who identified as white. The comic has been in circulation since 1989 and has since repeatedly made fun of workplace culture.
No Tolerance Toward Racism
Gannett announced via a statement that it will stop publishing Dilbert comic strips with immediate effect. "Recent discriminatory comments by the creator, Scott Adams, have influenced our decision to discontinue publishing his comic," the USA Today Network of hundreds of newspapers said in a statement Saturday to The Post.
"While we respect and encourage free speech, his views do not align with our editorial or business values as an organization.
"At Gannett, we lead with inclusion and strive to maintain a respectful and equitable environment for the diverse communities we serve nationwide."
Together with the Washington Post, The Cleveland Plain Dealer also said that it is breaking up its ties with Adams as a result of his "racist rant." This comes five months after Lee Enterprises removed the cartoon from its publications as part of a reduction in its funny pages.
"This is not a difficult decision," Plain Dealer Editor Chris Quinn wrote on Friday in his letter from the editor.
The Dilbert series is believed to have helped Adams amass over $70 million. He said in the live-streamed interview on Wednesday, " The best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people."
His Racist Rant
The 65-year-old continued by calling black people a "hate group," citing a poll that revealed that almost half of the black people are hostile toward white people.
The one-hour-long video was uploaded to Adams' 118,000-subscriber YouTube account. As of Saturday, 142,000 people had viewed it.
"I would say, 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," he stated.
Adams also said it doesn't "make any sense as a white citizen of America to try to help Black citizens anymore," arguing that it is "no longer a rational impulse."
"So I'm going to back off on being helpful to Black America because it doesn't seem like it pays off," he said.
The decision to sever ties with Adams, according to Quinn's statement, was "based on the principles of our news organization and the community we serve," not a choice to "cancel culture."
Advance Local, which owns newspapers in Staten Island, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Alabama, has The Plain Dealer in its portfolio. The chain is a part of the media corporation that the influential Newhouse publishing family started.
Quinn said in his letter that the editors in charge of other publications had likewise "independently" decided to stop running the comic strip.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, said on Saturday that it has ceased publication of "Dilbert" "in light of Scott Adams's recent statements promoting segregation."
Adams doubled down on his beliefs Saturday on Twitter, writing, "A lot of people are angry at me today but I haven't yet heard anyone disagree."
"I make two main points: 1. Treat everyone as an individual (no discrimination). 2. Avoid any group that doesn't respect you," the tweet continued. "Does anyone think that is bad advice?"
Since it was first released more than three decades ago, "Dilbert" has been featured in tens of thousands of newspapers nationwide, inspired merchandise, and even its own brief television series that ran from 1999 to 2000.
Adams claimed in 2020 that the show was canceled due to his "being white."
