Cartoonists across the country are applauding editors and publishers for condemning Scott Adams, the creator of the comic strip Dilbert, after his recent scathing attacks against black Americans.
Hillary Fitzgerald Campbell, a cartoonist at The New Yorker, said, “I am proud and glad to see that publishers, magazines, and newspapers are abandoning him because there should be no tolerance for this kind of language.”
“It’s a relief to see him held accountable,” she said.
Hundreds of newspapers, including The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, announced that they would no longer carry Adams’ work. On Monday, Adams’ distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, said they were severing ties with the cartoonist because the company does not support “any comments rooted in discrimination or hatred.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Penguin Random House imprint, Portfolio, will also no longer publish Adams’ upcoming book, Reframe Your Brain, which was set for release in September.
The result was revealed by a YouTube livestream posted on February 22, where Adams referenced a Rasmussen poll which found that only a slim majority of black Americans agreed with the statement “it’s okay to be white”. Adams accused black Americans of being a “hateful group” and advised white people to “get the hell away” from them.
But cartoonists say Adams has a long history of spewing problematic ideas. In the past, Adams has erroneously described people who have not been vaccinated against COVID as the real “winners” of the pandemic. He also questioned the accuracy of the Holocaust death toll. Another of Adams’s claims is that he lost many job opportunities because of “being white”.
“It begs the question, now that everyone is hoarding it, what took so long?” Said Keith Knight, an illustrator best known for his comic strips The Night Life, (Th) Ink and The K Chronicles. He is also the co-creator of the Hulu comedy show Woke, which chronicles the life of a Black cartoonist.
Adams Says He’s “Canceled” But Cartoonists Disagree
After receiving widespread opposition to his offensive rant, Adams described himself as being fired. But the cartoonists argue that they are only being held accountable for their comments.
Ward Sutton, who contributed illustrations to The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The New York Times, said, “Adams said he was reviled, it was for the things he said and the effect he had on other people.” Not your responsibility.” Rolling stone.
Sutton said, “He’s trying to turn himself into a victim, whereas he himself has been a perpetrator of hate.”
He added that newspapers are under no obligation to run Dilbert and that they have the editorial authority to cut ties with Adams if they no longer want him as a voice in their paper.
Similarly, Hector Cantu, best known for the Latino-American comic Baldo, said he believes in freedom of speech, but not freedom from consequences.
“Don’t brush it off by saying its politics or it’s cancel culture,” he said. “If you’re going to offend people, you run the risk of paying the price.”
Artists look to the future of cartooning for inspiration
In the wake of his controversial video, Adams stood by what he said and even gained support from those who are dismayed by “cancel culture,” including billionaire Elon Musk.
Despite Adams’ unapologetic stance, Knight hopes the Dilbert creator’s departure from newspapers will be an opportunity for a more diverse group of artists to share their work, saying the industry can be tough for artists of color.
“I say it all the time: Cats are better represented on the comics page than people of color,” Knight said. “Maybe this is an opportunity to diversify the comics page.”