Following a racist rant by Scott Adams on YouTube last week, comic strip publisher/syndicator Andrews McMeel Universal has said they will sever their relationship with the Dilbert creator. “The process of this termination will extend to all areas of our business with Adams and the Dilbert comic strip,” they said.
The statement, which was signed by both Chairman Hugh Andrews and CEO and President Andy Sareyan, said that while the company values free speech, “we will never support any commentary rooted in discrimination or hate.”
Here’s their statement in full:
The move follows several newspapers, including those owned by Gannett and Advance Local, announcing they would pull Dilbert last week following the YouTube rant. In the video, Adams referred to Black people as a “hate group” and encouraged white people to “get the hell away from Black people.”
Adams, who once encouraged companies to “eliminate the assholes” in one of his early books, has been very active on Twitter since the news broke and has already launched a subscription site that he says will feature “Dilbert (and more).”
Many comic creators have also been active on social media since the news broke: