The famous cartoon strip Dilbert created by Scott Adams is being dropped by multiple newspaper companies after his rants regarding African American people as a “hate group.”

The Dilbert comic strip has been published in many popular newspapers since 1989 and was one of the many regular strips to appear weekly alongside “Garfield” and “Calvin and Hobbs.” The comic has already been seeing a decline since Sep. 2022 due to the current themes the comic has been adopting. The comic was dropped by many smaller publications near the end of 2022.

It was not until Feb. 22, 2023, when Adams made the statement that led to bigger names leaving the comic behind. During a YouTube livestream, Adams commented how only a small number of African Americans agreed with the statement, “It’s ok to be white” from a Rasmussen Report. Later in the livestream, Adams stated that they are “a hate group” and that white people should “get the hell away”.

Promptly, many publications started making statements on how the comic will not be run in future additions. The Los Angeles Times has made a public statement that the comic will be discontinued on March 12 due to editions being printed in advance.

The NJ Advanced Media released an editor’s note written by Christopher Kelly in response to the comments. “Sadly, this is not the first time Adams has made statements that many of us found deeply troubling,” Kelly said. “But in this circumstance, the comments were far beyond the pale of what we consider appropriate speech.”

The other comments Adams made were regarding the Hyland Park shooting in Chicago. Kelly then added that the news organization “believe[s] fiercely in the free and fair exchange of ideas. But when those ideas cross into hate speech, a line must be drawn.”

Fellow cartoonists weighed in on the situation by disagreeing with Adams’s statement that he has been “canceled” by the media. Ward Sutton, illustrator for the New York Times and Rolling Stones Magazine, added, “By Adams saying he’s been canceled, it’s him not owning up to his own responsibility for the things he said and the effect they have on other people.” Cartoon creator of Baldo, Hector Cantú, added, “If you’re going to offend people, you risk paying the price.”