‘Dilbert’ Comic Strip Cut By Publications Over Creator’s ‘Racist Rant’—Here’s What We Know

Topline

The Plain Dealer will no longer carry the “Dilbert” comic strip, according to an announcement by the Cleveland newspaper, citing a recent “racist rant” by Scott Adams—who created the comic strip—while joining an effort by other newspapers to cut the strip after Adams made comments that have been widely criticized as racist.

Key Facts

Chris Quinn, editor of The Plain Dealer, said Friday that “reprehensible” comments by Adams—who called Black Americans a “hate group” in a recent video—and a string of “mostly hateful and racist” statements caused the newspaper to cut the strip.

Adams, who regularly posts his podcast “Coffee with Scott Adams” on YouTube, said Wednesday that white Americans should “get the hell away from Black people” and cited a Rasmussen survey indicating 53% of Black people agree with the phrase “It’s OK to be white”—which has been labeled a hate slogan.

Quinn notes The Plain Dealer is a subsidiary of Advance Local, which owns news outlets in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Alabama, Massachusetts and Oregon, which have all also decided to stop running the strip.

The comic strip has already been cut from 77 other newspapers owned by the publisher Lee Enterprises, according to The Daily Beast.

In an announcement Friday, USA Today said it would no longer publish the comic “due to recent discriminatory comments” by Adams.

The San Francisco Chronicle, which dropped the comic in October 2022, added that its parent company Hearst Communications had decided to cut the strip from its newspapers.

Crucial Quote

Quinn said a decision to stop running “Dilbert” is “based on the principles of this news organization and the community we serve,” adding “we are not a home for those who espouse racism” and “we certainly do not want to provide them with financial support.”

Surprising Fact

“Dilbert” was recreated as a primetime, animated TV series in the late 1990s, though it was canceled after two seasons and 30 episodes. Adams said in June 2020 he “lost my TV show for being white when UPN decided it would focus on an African-American audience,” indicating it was the “third job I lost for being white.” Two years later, Adams tweeted that he would “self-identify as a Black woman until Biden picks his Supreme Court nominee.”

Key Background

“Dilbert” was created by Adams in 1989 and is deemed by publisher Andrews McMeel Syndication as “the most photocopied, pinned-up, downloaded, faxed and emailed comic strip in the world.” The comic strip has appeared in an estimated 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries and 25 languages. Adams has been condemned for comments criticized as racist in recent years, including comments that some of his projects have been canceled because he is white. Previously, Adams was criticized for asking survivors and witnesses of a 2019 mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, to sign up for an app he helped create. Andrews McMeel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

Further Reading

Bay Area Cartoonist Who Created Dilbert Goes On Racist Rant, Draws Condemnation (San Francisco Chronicle)

We Are Dropping The Dilbert Comic Strip Because Of Creator Scott Adams’ Racist Rant (The Plain Dealer)