The Deseret News has dropped the “Dilbert” comic strip, created by Scott Adams, from its weekly lineup. The move follows cancellation of the relationship between Adams and his distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, Sunday, and cancellation by newspapers throughout the country of Adams’ popular comic strip after the creator’s Feb. 22 comments describing Black people as “a hate group.”
“We are no fans of cancel culture and believe strongly in free speech. But such blatant racist statements falsely labeling and characterizing whole groups of people are not compatible with the Deseret News and counter to the work we try to do,” said Executive Editor Doug Wilks.
As The Associated Press reported, the creator of the long-running comic that pokes fun at office-place culture defended himself on social media against those whom he said “hate me and are canceling me.”
The backlash against Adams arose following comments on “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.” Among other topics, Adams used the YouTube show to reference a Rasmussen Reports survey that had asked whether people agreed with the statement “It’s OK to be white.”
Most agreed, but Adams noted that 26% of Black respondents disagreed and others weren’t sure.
Adams, who is white, repeatedly referred to people who are Black as members of a “hate group” or a “racist hate group” and said he would no longer “help Black Americans.”
“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,” Adams said on his Wednesday show.