Newspapers Drop Dilbert After Its Creator Scott Adams’ Racist Remarks
Hundreds of newspapers across the United States have dropped the long-running comic strip Dilbert after its creator Scott Adams called Black Americans a “hate group” and said White people should “get the hell away” from them.[0] Adams made the remarks on an episode of his YouTube show, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams,” which aired Wednesday.
Adams was responding to a Rasmussen Reports survey that asked whether people agreed with the statement “It’s OK to be white.”[1] The poll found that 53% of Black Americans agreed with the statement, while 26% disagreed and 21% said they were “not sure.”[2] Adams called Black people a “hate group” and said he would no longer “help” Black Americans.[0] He also blamed them for “not focusing on education” and implied Black Americans were targeting “non-Black citizens” with violence.[3]
The backlash was swift, with newspapers such as The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the USA Today Network announcing they would stop publishing “Dilbert” in response to Adams’s comments.[4] The Arizona Republic, MLive Media, The Plain Dealer, and NJ.com have also dropped the comic strip, with Chris Quinn, editor of The Plain Dealer, saying “we are not a home for those who espouse racism.”
Adams reacted to the backlash on Twitter, saying he had been “cancelled” and predicting that most of his income would be gone by the end of the week.[5] The Anti-Defamation League has noted that the phrase “It’s OK to be white” emerged on the infamous message board 4chan in 2017 as a trolling campaign and has a “long history” in the white supremacist movement.
The cartoonist has since received support from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who blasted media organizations for dropping the comic strip and accused them of being racist against “whites and Asians.”[6] Despite the backlash, Adams has not apologized for his remarks, instead doubling down on his suggestion that White people should “get the hell away” from Black people.[7] With the majority of newspapers no longer running the strip, it looks like Adams’s career may be irreparably damaged.[5]
0. “USA TODAY, other newspapers drop Dilbert comic after creator's racist comments” Yahoo! Voices, 26 Feb. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/news/usa-today-other-newspapers-drop-173851585.html
1. “Fully Unhinged ‘Dilbert' Guy Tells White People to ‘Get the Fuck Away' From Black People” The Daily Beast, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.thedailybeast.com/dilbert-cartoonist-scott-adams-tells-white-people-to-get-the-fuck-away-from-black-people
2. “Newspapers have dropped the ‘Dilbert' comic strip after a racist rant by its creator” NPR, 26 Feb. 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/02/26/1159580425/newspapers-have-dropped-the-dilbert-comic-strip-after-a-racist-rant-by-its-creat
3. “Elon Musk Backs Dilbert Guy, Says the Media Is ‘Racist Against Whites'” New York Magazine, 27 Feb. 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/scott-adams-dilbert-cancelled-over-racist-rant-elon-musk-attacks-media.html
4. “Hundreds Of Newspapers Are Dropping “Dilbert” After Creator Scott Adams Told White People To “Get The Hell Away From Black People”” BuzzFeed News, 26 Feb. 2023, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pocharaponneammanee/scott-adams-racist-dilbert-newspapers
5. “Newspapers pull ‘Dilbert’ after cartoonist calls Black people a ‘hate group’” The Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/02/25/scott-adams-dilbert-canceled/
6. “Elon Musk defends Dilbert cartoonist Adams after racist rant” San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Feb. 2023, https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/elon-musk-scott-adams-dilbert-17806931.php
7. “Hundreds of newspapers drop ‘Dilbert' comic strip after racist tirade from creator Scott Adams” CNN, 27 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/25/business/dilbert-comic-strip-racist-tirade/index.html
