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Newspapers are dropping the ‘Dilbert’ comic strip after creator Scott Adams launched into a racist tirade advising his followers 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 the remarks made by its creator on his online show ‘Real Coffee with Scott Adams.’
It comes after Dilbert was already canned by 77 newspapers in September due to its increasingly controversial plotlines including one about a black character who identifies as white.
The comic has been in circulation since 1989 and frequently pokes fun at office culture.
Adams, who is believed to have amassed more than $70 million from the Dilbert series, said in the livestreamed talk on Wednesday: ‘The best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people.
Scott Adams, pictured in his studio in 2006, is believed to have amassed a $70 million fortune for his beloved ‘Dilbert’ comics which have been in circulation since 1989
Dilbert has featured in newspapers across 57 countries, and in 19 languages – and there are over 20 million Dilbert books and calendars in print
‘Just get the f**k away. Wherever you have to go, just get away.’
He added: ‘There’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed… You just have to escape. So that’s what I did, I went to a neighborhood where I have a very low black population.’
The 65-year-old went on to label black people a ‘hate group,’ citing a poll that found nearly half of black people are not ok with white people.
The hour-long YouTube video was posted to Adams’ channel which has 118,000 subscribers.
As of Saturday it had 142,000 views.
On Saturday Gannett, which owns over 100 newspapers, confirmed it was dropping Dilbert over the controversy.
‘Recent discriminatory comments by the creator, Scott Adams, have influenced our decision to discontinue publishing his comic,’ the organization said in a statement Saturday to The New York 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.’
The Cleveland Plain Dealer also said it’s cutting ties with Adams following his ‘racist rant.’
‘This is not a difficult decision,’ Plain Dealer Editor Chris Quinn wrote Friday in his letter from the editor.
On Saturday Gannett, which owns over 100 newspapers, said it was dropping the series
The series had already been dropped by other publishers over its increasingly contentious plotlines
‘Adams said Black people are a hate group, citing a recent Rasmussen survey which, he said, shows nearly half of all Black people do not agree with the phrase ‘It’s okay to be white.’
Newspaper cartoon Dilbert gets canceled after creator Scott Adams is branded racist
Adams appeared to double down on the remarks on Twitter at the weekend.
‘A lot of people are angry at me today but I haven’t yet heard anyone disagree,’ he told his 867,000 followers.
‘I make two main points: 1. Treat everyone as an individual (no discrimination).
‘2. Avoid any group that doesn’t respect you. Does anyone think that is bad advice?’
Later in the day he posted: ‘Has anyone checked the price of free speech lately? It’s worse than eggs.’
It comes five months after Lee enterprises also dropped the cartoon from its newspapers.
The media company owns 77 newspapers across the country – including The Buffalo News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Arizona Daily Sun – and had been publishing Adams’ jokes about the corporate ladder for years.
Last year one plotline saw a black character, who identifies as white, being asked to also identify as gay to boost his company’s environmental, social, and governance ratings.
Adams, pictured in 2001, has come under fire for the ‘racist’ remarks posted to his YouTube channel Real Coffee with Scott Adams
Dave, his reoccurring character, replies: ‘Depends how hard you want me to sell it,’ before the boss responds: ‘Just wear better shirts.’
Another satire showed the same character in charge of the fictional firm wondering how he can open a new factory without contributing negatively to the environment.
As a solution to stop him being bashed by ‘woke’ commentators, the boss concludes that he’ll add a non-binary worker to his board to increase diversity.
Adams’ satirical strips feature in newspapers across 57 countries, and in 19 languages – and there are over 20 million Dilbert books and calendars in print.
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