The Richmond Times-Dispatch will no longer publish the “Non Sequitur” comic strip, effective immediately.
Our comics section on Sunday included a Wiley Miller “Non Sequitur” strip that contained a vulgar reprimand from President Donald Trump. The same comic was published in many newspapers across the country.
The writing, which read “Fuck you, Trump,” was small and tucked into the lower corner of the second panel of a strip that encouraged readers to color its panels. It wasn’t until Monday that a reader told us which language we knew.
The Sunday Comics section in The Times-Dispatch is assembled by a vendor, and the comic itself is sent to the vendor by the Andrews McMeel Syndicate. Since the Sunday, February 17 and Sunday, February 24 Comics sections have already been printed, “Non Sequitur” will not be replaced on Sunday until March 3.
On Monday, Miller released a statement apologizing for the comic, saying he produced it about eight weeks ago and forgot he included the vulgar language.
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“I remember now that I was particularly annoyed that day about something the president had done or said, and so I lashed out in a rather sophomoric way as instant therapy,” he said. declared. “It was NOT for public consumption, and I wanted to launder it before submitting it, but forgot to.”
Miller, who premiered “Non Sequitur” 27 years ago this week, said “in all that time I’ve never done anything like it, nor do I have any intention of doing it at the future”.
But Miller’s Monday apology that he forgot the foul language contrasted with his social media post on Sunday morning, when he took to Twitter to alert readers to the hidden message in that day’s tape- there, saying, “Some of my keen-eyed readers spotted a little Leonardo Bear-Vinci Easter egg.
Some of my keen-eyed readers have spotted a little Leonardo Bear-Vinci Easter egg. Can you find it?
Non-sequential from February 10, 2019 | https://t.co/ITjGIYyfyN https://t.co/fDHpxSmAgo via @GoComics
— Wiley Miller (@TheWileyMiller) February 10, 2019
Andrews McMeel released a statement on Monday saying “we are sorry to have missed the language in our editing process. If we had found out, we wouldn’t have distributed the cartoon without it being taken down. We apologize to Non Sequitur customers and readers for our oversight.
Our decision to remove “Non Sequitur” is based on the graphic nature of the content and the breach of integrity created by the author of the comic. In its place starting today, you’ll find “Ziggy,” a longtime reader favorite.
“Non Sequitur” has been popular with our readers, but the use of such foul and offensive language is unbecoming of a newspaper that should be a model of civic discourse.