“Dilbert” mastermind Scott Adams is back with more racially insensitive remarks as he already faces backlash that led 77 newspapers nationwide to pull his widely syndicated comic strip.
Last month, while chatting with viewers of his “Real Coffee with Scott Adams” web series, the cartoonist ranted about how white people should “get the hell away from Black people,” according to the New York Daily News.
“Based on the current way things are going,” Adams said on Feb. 27, The Associated Press reported, “the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people.”
His controversial remarks were in response to a debatable poll alleging a significant portion of Black people oppose the idea that “it’s okay to be white,” the Daily News reported.
Adams, a 65-year-old white man, frequently referred to Black people as belonging to a “hate group” or a “racist hate group” and declared he would no longer “help Black Americans.”
During an interview with Chris Cuomo on Monday night, Adams explained to the News Nation host that he “intentionally courted controversy” to highlight how tense racial relations are in the United States, adding that the remarks spreading online need more context.
“There’s no other way to interpret it,” Adams said, the Daily News reported, “than the worst possible way.”
He insisted that he was framing his main argument in a manner that would “attract attention,” which, in Adams’ opinion, took on a life of its own. He said he knew his remarks would spark controversy, but thought they would remain within his audience.
Adams attempted to clarify his comments.
“What I want your audience to know is that when I complained about Black people having a bad attitude about white people, that was me saying nothing about Black people,” he said, The Daily Mail reported. “It was saying, ‘I don’t want to be around people who have a bad feeling about me.'”
Still, speaking to Cuomo, Adams joked that “Black America is actually completely fine” with his general argument, claiming he’s been invited to “come over to the barbecue,” the Daily News reported.
The term “barbecue” or “cookout” is a symbolic gathering in the Black community, typically just for Black people. It refers to a tradition where African Americans gather for food, fun and fellowship with their loved ones.
The author has garnered attention for remarks he has made in the past, including one in which he claimed that society treats women differently for the same reason that it treats children and people with mental disabilities — “it’s just easier this way for everyone” — in 2011.
Adams claimed that when UPN chose to target a Black audience, the network fired him from the prime-time animated “Dilbert” series, which ran for two seasons, for “being white.” He also claimed two other corporate jobs fired him because of his race.
Since its release in 1989, the “Dilbert” comic strip has become known for making light of workplace customs, and Adams has amassed a fortune of $75 million, according to the Mail.
In the Cuomo interview, Adams accepted responsibility for his initial remarks, despite his assertion that he doesn’t really prefer segregation in America.
“I’m probably the only white man in America who has free speech today because I can say whatever the hell I want, and I can’t get further canceled,” Adams told Cuomo, the Daily News reported. “So I’ve had this insanely, weirdly, good experience out of this that I can’t explain.”
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