Hundreds of newspapers nationwide are dropping the long-running “Dilbert” comic after its creator, Scott Adams, called Black people “a hate group” and advised that white people “get away” from them during a video streamed on YouTube.
Publishers have called Adams’ comments racist and discriminatory. Adams has argued that he has been taken out of context and said that he was “advising people to avoid hate.”
The comments in question came Wednesday as Adams discussed a recent poll from Rasmussen Reports which found that 26% of Black Americans disagreed with the statement, “It’s OK to be white,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The phrase was popularized in 2017 on the 4chan message board and had been used by white supremacists “long before” that, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The group has deemed the statement to be a hate slogan.
Discussing the Rasmussen Reports poll on his “Real Coffee with Scott Adams” YouTube show, Adams noted that only a small majority of Black people polled agreed with the statement, “It’s OK to be white.”
“If nearly half of all Blacks are not OK with white people — according to this poll, not according to me, according to this poll — that’s a hate group,” he said. “And I don’t want to have anything to do with them. And I would say, you know, 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 added, “There’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed. … You just have to escape.”
Adams’ statements drew condemnation and prompted publishers to drop his longtime comic, which skewers office culture. The award-winning comic, which Adams created in 1989, appeared in as many as 2,000 newspapers at its peak, The Washington Post reported.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Post said the newspaper had stopped publishing the comic strip, “In light of Scott Adams’s recent statement promoting segregation.”
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the USA Today Network and a slew of others have also announced plans to pull the comic.
In a letter published online Friday, Plain Dealer editor Chris Quinn called Adams’ comments “staggering.”
“This is not a difficult decision,” he wrote. Later, he added, “We are not a home for those who espouse racism. We certainly do not want to provide them with financial support.”
Officials with Gannett, which owns the USA Today Network, said in a statement Friday that the network would no longer be publishing “Dilbert.”
“While we respect and encourage free speech, his views do not align with our editorial or business values as an organization,” company officials said.
At @Gannett, we lead with inclusion and strive to maintain a respectful and equitable environment for the diverse communities we serve nationwide. #TeamGannett pic.twitter.com/GvHR1w9ae3
— USA TODAY NETWORK PR (@USATODAY_PR) February 24, 2023
In a statement to the Post, Adams acknowledged that in light of his statements, “lots of people are angry,” though he said he hasn’t “seen any disagreement yet, at least not from anyone who saw the context.”
“Some questioned the poll data,” he added. “That’s fair.”
