"He is drawing down his portfolio and spoke about a key idea which favor dividend paying stocks - predictability.

I used to believe this.

Then I watched as retiree darling AT&T cut its dividend in half.

No one talks about dividend cuts or suspensions.

I much prefer to manufacture my own dividend by selling shares. That also gives you the ability to control your income. But selling shares is too big a psychological hurdle for most people."

I tend to invest in dividend paying stocks because I like the option it gives me of having a cash payout there if I need it, or I can reinvest it if I don't. I find a lot of the sources I tend to lean on talk a lot about the risks of cuts and suspensions to them, so I find this sort of criticism a bit weak.

Yes, cuts and suspensions can happen but like with any investment it needs you to do as much research/ due diligence as you can - and looking for whatever margins of safety wherever you can find them. One or two stocks cutting their payouts shouldn't de-rail an entire strategy if you have a decent portfolio (both in quality and size).

I think what does go unmentioned is the different approaches within the dividend investing community (i.e those that do stretch for maximum yield and those who give much greater priority to growth of that dividend for example).

Best wishes,

Indefensible.