Why have newspapers and magazines decided to drop the Dilbert comic strip?

A number of prominent publications have opted to discontinue the long-running Dilbert comic strip due to offensive remarks made by the cartoon’s creator, Scott Adams.

Last week Adams posted an online video in which he urged White people “to get away from Black people,” labelling them a “hate group”.

In the video he discusses an opinion poll conducted by right-wing group Rasmussen Reports, in which a thousand Americans were asked: “Do you agree or disagree with this statement, ‘It’s OK to be white’?”

The phrase ‘It’s ok to be white’ is a feature of right-far discourse and has been designated as hate speech by the Anti-Defamation League. The poll claimed that 26% of Black respondents disagreed with the phrase; sparking Adams to describe “Black people” as a “hate group”.

The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, amongst many other publications have confirmed that they will no longer feature the Dilbert cartoon. Andrews McMells Universal, the comic strip’s main distributor, also announced that they had cut ties with Adams.

Scott Adams has a history of controversy statements

This incident was far from the first instance of Adams making controversial, racially-charged comments in public. He has previously questioned the accuracy of the death toll in the Holocaust and joked about identifying as a Black person, “because I like to be on the winning team”.

Adams has claimed to be a victim of racism in corporate America, which he believes adversely affects White creators. In 2020 he tweeted that he had lost three jobs “for being white.”

In response to Adams’ latest public outburst Chris Quinn, editor of Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer, said that the cartoonist’s comments were “hateful and racist”.

“We are not a home for those who espouse racism,” Quinn wrote. “Adams’ reprehensible statements come during Black History Month, when The Plain Dealer has been publishing stories about the work being performed by so many to overcome the damage done by racist decisions and policy.”

However not everyone has distanced themselves from Adams and the world’s second-richest man has offered some support.

Elon Musk refused to decry Adams’ comments and claimed that for a “very long time, US media was racist against non-white people, now they’re racist against whites & Asians.”

“Same thing happened with elite colleges & high schools in America,” the Twitter owner wrote. “Maybe they can try not being racist.”