Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Dies at 68 After Cancer Battle

Iconic Cartoonist Leaves Complex Legacy

Scott Adams, the creator of the globally popular Dilbert comic strip, has died at age 68 after a battle with metastatic prostate cancer. His ex-wife Shelly Miles announced his death during a livestream on social media, reading a final message from Adams that reflected on his life and career.

'I've had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had,' Adams wrote in the statement posted to his social media accounts. He urged fans to share his work with others, saying 'That's the legacy I want to leave behind.'

The Rise of Dilbert

Adams created Dilbert in 1989 while working at Pacific Bell, drawing inspiration from his experiences in corporate America. The strip, featuring an engineer navigating absurd workplace bureaucracy, quickly resonated with office workers worldwide. At its peak, Dilbert appeared in 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries and was translated into 25 languages, according to Wikipedia.

The comic strip spawned numerous books, an animated television series, and became a cultural phenomenon. In 1997, Adams received the prestigious Reuben Award, and Dilbert became the first fictional character to be included in Time magazine's list of most influential Americans.

Controversial Later Years

Adams' career took a dramatic turn in recent years as he became increasingly vocal about his political views. In 2023, most newspapers and his distributor dropped Dilbert after he made comments widely condemned as racist during a YouTube broadcast.

During the broadcast, Adams referred to Black Americans who disagreed with the statement 'It's okay to be white' as a 'hate group' and said he would no longer help Black Americans. He later claimed his comments were exaggerated for effect, but the damage was done. As reported by NBC News, this led to the collapse of his mainstream publishing career.

Health Battle and Final Days

Adams revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis in May 2025, announcing that it had spread to his bones. In his final months, he received palliative care at home in Northern California and was treated with Pluvicto, a targeted radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

His health struggles gained attention when he publicly appealed to former President Donald Trump for help with his medical insurance. Trump responded positively, and Adams later reported that his treatment had been scheduled. In a statement following Adams' death, Trump called him 'a fantastic man who respected me when it wasn't fashionable to do so.'

According to Fortune, Adams experienced a late-life conversion to Christianity shortly before his death, accepting Jesus Christ as his lord and savior.

A Divided Legacy

Adams leaves behind a complex legacy. For millions, he created one of the most relatable workplace satires of all time, giving voice to the frustrations of corporate employees worldwide. Yet his later controversial statements created deep divisions.

As one cultural commentator noted, 'Scott Adams gave us the vocabulary to laugh at corporate absurdity, but his personal journey reminds us that creators are often more complicated than their creations.'

The Dilbert strip continues as 'Dilbert Reborn' on subscription platforms, though its mainstream newspaper presence never recovered from the 2023 controversy. Adams is survived by his ex-wife and his enduring creation, which continues to resonate with office workers navigating the absurdities of corporate life.