Penguin Random House is dropping its plans to publish a book by “Dilbert” comic strip creator Scott Adams, marking the latest fallout over the cartoonist’s recent alleged racist rant.
Adams’ “Dilbert” comic strip was dropped last week by hundreds of newspapers after the 65-year-old creator advised white people to “get the f–k away” from black people during his online show “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.”
Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint, said it is ditching its plans to publish the book titled “Reframe Your Brain,” according to a report from the Wall Street Journal late Monday.
Adams confirmed to the Journal that Portfolio won’t be publishing “Reframe Your Brain.”
Portfolio did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The move to cut ties with Adams comes after he reacted last week to a Rasmussen Poll that said a small majority of black Americans agreed with the statement “It’s OK to be white.”
“If nearly half of all blacks are not OK with white people … that’s a hate group,” Adams said in the video, which was posted to his YouTube channel last Wednesday. “I don’t want to have anything to do with them. And I would say, 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 … because there is no fixing this.”
The Anti-Defamation League has noted that phrase, “it’s OK to be white,” was popularized on the website 4chan in 2017 for trolling purposes and adopted by white supremacists as a “hate slogan.”
Soon after Adams posed his video, Gannett’s USA Today Network, which includes hundreds of newspapers, Cleveland’s Plain Dealer, the San Antonio Express-News, the Washington Post and other publications all said they would stop publishing “Dilbert.”
“Recent discriminatory comments by the creator, Scott Adams, have influenced our decision to discontinue publishing his comic. While we respect and encourage free speech, his views do not align with our editorial or business values as an organization,” the USA Today Network said in a statement Saturday to The Post.
Adams doubled down on his beliefs Saturday on Twitter, writing, “A lot of people are angry at me today but I haven’t yet heard anyone disagree.”
“I make two main points: 1. Treat everyone as an individual (no discrimination). 2. Avoid any group that doesn’t respect you,” the tweet continued. “Does anyone think that is bad advice?”
Adams’ tweet, which has garnered 2.2 million views, has rankled Twitter users, who called the cartoonist a “racist” and argued he “canceled” himself.
In the past, Portfolio has published such books by Adams as “Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America” and “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.” The cartoonist’s books are known for their humorous advice.
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