Scott Adams Dies: Controversial ‘Dilbert’ Cartoonist Was 68

Scott Adams, the controversial creator of the popular Dilbert cartoon, has died of prostate cancer. He was 68.

His death was announced today by his ex-wife Shelly on his live stream “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.”

“He’s not with us anymore,” a tearful Shelly told others on the stream. She then read a statement that the cartoonist had written before he died.

“If you are reading this, things did not go well for me,” the statement read. “I have a few things to say before I go. My body failed before my brain. I am of sound mind as I write this January 1, 2026. If you wonder about any of my choices for my estate or anything else, please know that I free of any [unintelligible] or inappropriate influence of any sort, I promise.

“Next many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go,” Adams’ statement said, and although the cartoonist noted that he has not been a “believer,” he accepted, after weighing the cost-risk benefits, “Jesus Christ as my lord and savior and look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about me being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won’t need anymore convincing than that. I hope I’m still qualified for entry.”

Yesterday, TMZ reported that Adams had recently entered hospice as his health rapidly declined.

In his statement, Adams reflected on his career as a cartoonist and author before ending with, “I had an amazing life, I gave it everything I had…Be useful and please know that I loved you all to the very end.”

At its peak, Dilbert, according to reports, was published in 2,000 newspapers in 65 countries. But in 2023 the strip’s syndicator said that it was dropping the comic strip following racist remarks made by Adams. The publisher of Adams’ non-Dilbert books also has terminated an upcoming project, according to The Wall Street Journal. Adams wrote on then-Twitter that the publisher also canceled his backlist.

“Still no disagreement about my point of view. My book agent canceled me too,” Adams wrote.

The cancelations came after Adams, on his YouTube show, referred to Black Americans as a “hate group.”

“The best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people.” Adams said. “It’s OK to be white.” Adams later said, “I’m accepting criticism from anyone who has seen the full context here. The rest of you are in a fake news bubble but I trust you suspected that.”