Dupuis halts sales of Spirou comic album after criticism of racism and sexism

Belgian comics publisher Dupuis will stop selling the album “Spirou et la Gorgone Bleue”. The comic book has been fiercely criticised by internet users who labelled it racist and sexist.

The comic book in question by Dany and Yann was published in the autumn of 2023. Since last weekend, there has been outrage on the internet because black characters have been given a monkey appearance and because of the misogynistic way women are portrayed in the album.

“Strangely enough, when you see white people, you can tell they are human, but when they are black, they clearly look like monkeys,” said one internet user last weekend in a TikTok video that has been viewed almost 770,000 times. “And all women are hyper-sexualised,” she added with some examples from the comic.

Publisher Dupuis responded to the controversy on X, saying the album “fits in a caricatural style of representation inherited from another era”. The publisher said it is “aware of its moral duty” and that it must take into account “the evolution of society”. “We therefore take full responsibility for this error of judgement,” declared Dupuis.

“It was not our intention to shock or hurt anyone. We were very sad, but we understood. Therefore, we decided to withdraw the comic book from sale. We are very sorry,” added Dupuis press officer Ines Cuesta Guerra.

^{The logo of Dupuis on the window at the entrance of their administrative office in Marcinelle © BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR}