Chris Cuomo blamed cancel culture for running amok in defending “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams after his race-tinged rant spurred newspapers across the country to drop the popular comic strip.
The NewsNation anchor spent the bulk of his hour-long show interviewing Adams before proclaiming “he’s not David Duke,” a reference to the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan who ran for president in 1988.
Adams sparked outrage last week after referring to black people as a “hate group” and saying white people should “just get the f–k away” from them.
As Cuomo wrapped up his nightly newscast on Monday, he was preparing to hand off to Dan Abrams, who questioned Cuomo’s support of Adams.
Abrams said “there’s no defending him.”
Cuomo quickly shot back.
“He’s not David Duke. David Duke doesn’t get airtime,” said Cuomo, before insisting that newspapers should reverse their decision to drop the long-running comic that pokes fun at office culture.
“I’m not challenging you having him on the show,” Abrams responded.
“I’m challenging, now, you think that all those places that said ‘We don’t want to have anything to do with him’ should reinstate him?”
Cuomo said: “I think that there’s such weaponizing of the division that it’s so easy to cancel him. But all it does is feed the people out there who are selling the same thing.”
Cuomo maintained that Adams doesn’t “believe” that “white people shouldn’t live near black people” and that his “work is very clear” in this regard.
During the interview, Adams told Cuomo that his remarks were “taken out of context,” though he acknowledges that he tried to ignite a debate.
Adams told Cuomo that “black America is actually completely fine” with his controversial remarks that he made during a YouTube streaming broadcast last month.
“Black people are contacting me and saying, ‘Come over to the barbecue, let’s talk,’ and all these things,” Adams told the former CNN anchor.
He said his remarks were aimed at “attract[ing] attention so that I could have a productive argument.”
“I offended people so that they would be drawn to the solution,” Adams said.
The backlash began following an episode last week of Adams’ YouTube show, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.”
Among other topics, Adams referenced a Rasmussen Reports survey that had asked whether people agreed with the statement “It’s OK to be white.”
“Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people,” Adams said on his Wednesday show.
In another episode of his online show, Adams said he had been making a point that “everyone should be treated as an individual” without discrimination.
“But you should also avoid any group that doesn’t respect you, even if there are people within the group who are fine,” Adams said.
The publications and media syndicates that dropped “Dilbert” included the Los Angeles Times, San Antonio Express-News, USA Today Network, NJ Advance Media and the Plain Dealer in Cleveland.
With Post wires
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