(NewsReady.com) – The comic strip Dilbert has graced the pages of hundreds of newspapers since its first publication in 1989. That has now come to an end after its author was accused of making racist comments. Elon Musk has now weighed in on the controversy.
The blowback began after Scott Adams, Dilbert’s creator, made a series of unflattering comments. At the end of February, Adams spoke during a YouTube video, telling white people to “get the hell away from black people.” The comic creator cited a poll by Rasmussen Reports, which found 26% of black respondents disagreed with the statement: “It’s OK to be white.”
Adams went on to say he used to “help the black community.” However, he told his viewers it “makes no sense” for white Americans to help black Americans; instead, they should “get away.”
The backlash against Adams was immediate. Andrews McMeel Universal, the company that distributed “Dilbert,” severed ties with its creator. The company issued a statement saying it “values free speech” but doesn’t support “commentary rooted in discrimination or hate.”
— Andrews McMeel (@AndrewsMcMeel) February 27, 2023
Billionaire Elon Musk weighed in on the controversy after Andrews McMeel dropped the comic strip. He called the media racist, saying it discriminated against people of color for a long time, but “now they’re racist against whites [and] Asians.”
For a *very* long time, US media was racist against non-white people, now they’re racist against whites & Asians.
Same thing happened with elite colleges & high schools in America.
Maybe they can try not being racist.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2023
The current controversy regarding Adams isn’t the first time he has been under fire. In 2022, 77 newspapers, including The San Francisco Chronicle, dropped “Dilbert” after Adams made a strip that said underperforming workers could claim reparations. It also said straight men should pretend to be gay. He also introduced the first black character that year. The character identified as white.
Adams has also questioned whether or not the Holocaust death toll is accurate, and he once used the Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting in California to promote an app.
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