The Denver Post

Media drop Dilbert after Black “hate group” remark

- By David A. Lieb

The creator of the Dilbert comic strip faced a backlash of cancellati­ons Saturday while defending remarks describing people who are Black as members of “a hate group” from which white people should “get away.”

Various media publishers across the U. S. denounced the comments by Dilbert creator Scott Adams as racist, hateful and discrimina­tory while saying they would no longer provide a platform for his work.

Andrews Mcmeel Syndicatio­n, which distribute­s Dilbert, did not immediatel­y respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Adams defended himself on social media against those whom he said “hate me and are canceling me.”

Dilbert is a long- running comic that pokes fun at office culture.

The backlash began after an episode last week of the Youtube show “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.” Adams referenced 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.

The Anti- Defamation League says the phrase was popularize­d in 2017 as a trolling campaign by members of the discussion forum 4chan but then began being used by some white supremacis­ts.

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.

In another episode of his online show Saturday, Adams said he had been making a point that “everyone should be treated as an individual.”

The Denver Post is in the process of ending its publicatio­n of Dilbert. Today’s comics section was printed in advance.

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