'Not a difficult decision': Ohio paper nixes 'Dilbert' cartoon after Trump-supporting creator's racist rant

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25 February 2023

Dilbert, the three-decades old daily comic strip about office worker struggles, is being pulled from The Cleveland Plain Dealer following cartoonist Scott Adams' racist tirade earlier this week, the newspaper's editor wrote on Friday.

"This is not a difficult decision," wrote Chris Quinn. "No, this is a decision based on the principles of this news organization and the community we serve. We are not a home for those who espouse racism. We certainly do not want to provide them with financial support. 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."

"Until we decide what to replace Dilbert with, you’ll likely see a gray box where it has been appearing," wrote Quinn, noting that because comics are scheduled in advance, the strip may appear for a few more editions.

Adams, a former supporter of former President Donald Trump, has become notorious for pushing far-right conspiracy theories, including COVID medical misinformation and a proclamation that the Biden administration would hunt down and kill Republicans en masse. He has already been dropped by 77 papers affiliated with Lee Enterprises, noted Quinn, "after Adams introduced his first Black character, apparently to poke fun at “woke” culture and the LGBTQ community."

But this week, The Daily Beast reported, Adams took it to a new level with a rant on his podcast claiming that Black people are a "hate group" that white people should "get the hell away from."

"I don’t think it makes any sense as a white citizen of America to try to help Black citizens anymore,” said Adams. “It doesn’t make sense. There’s no longer a rational impulse. So I’m going to back off on being helpful to Black America because it doesn’t seem like it pays off.”

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