Scott Adams, 'Dilbert' Creator Noted for Office Satire, Passes at 68

Scott Adams, the creator of the renowned comic strip "Dilbert," passed away at the age of 68, according to an announcement made by his first ex-wife, Shelly Miles, on a livestream shared via Adams' social media channels. She disclosed his passing on Tuesday and indicated that he had recently been in hospice care at his Northern California residence. Adams had publicly revealed in 2025 that he was contending with prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones. His statement reflected on a life well-lived, stating, "I had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had." "Dilbert" achieved international recognition at its zenith, featuring a protagonist characterized as a mouthless, bespectacled engineer wearing his trademark white short-sleeved shirt and red tie, captured in over 2,000 newspapers across more than 70 nations and translated into 25 languages. Adams received the National Cartoonists Society’s prestigious Reuben Award in 1997, the same year "Dilbert" became the first fictional character listed among Time magazine’s most influential Americans. Time lauded the strip as a voice for office employees, highlighting its role in expressing the suppressed frustrations of cubicle workers trying to navigate corporate bureaucracy without resorting to violence. The strip's popularity gave rise to widespread reproduction by fans—through photocopies, emails, and postings online—and extended into other media including bestselling books, merchandise, commercials, and an animated series featuring Daniel Stern as Dilbert’s voice. However, Adams’ public image and career suffered a dramatic reversal in 2023. Controversy erupted when he, identifying as white, labeled Black people as a "hate group" and expressed a refusal to support Black Americans, remarks he later characterized as hyperbolic but still defended. This led to an immediate withdrawal of "Dilbert" from newspapers and severance of ties by his distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal. Notably, The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, Massachusetts, opted to leave the former "Dilbert" comic space blank temporarily to underscore ongoing societal racism. Plans for a new book were also canceled. Bill Holbrook, creator of the comic strip "On the Fastrack," commented on the matter, emphasizing that Adams was not "canceled" but rather facing consequences for his statements. Despite the setback, Adams launched "Dilbert Reborn" on the alternative video platform Rumble, appealing mainly to conservative and far-right audiences. He additionally hosted "Real Coffee," a podcast centered on political and social commentary. During a period when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show following controversial comments related to the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Adams vocalized his support for free speech, articulating a reluctant acceptance of the repercussions of expression without vindictiveness. Adams’ journey began during the 1980s while employed at Pacific Bell. With degrees from Hartwick College and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, he initially shared cartoons within his workplace. His creation centered on Dilbert, a programmer in a high-tech firm, encapsulated the absurdities of office life long before similar themed TV shows gained popularity. The strip portrayed office life as an oppressive, Kafkaesque environment saturated with bureaucracy and unappreciated employee efforts. It introduced concepts such as the "Dilbert Principle," positing that the least effective employees are systematically reassigned to management positions where they can cause minimal harm. Characters representing office archetypes, including Dilbert’s clueless boss, a naive intern named Asok, the indifferent Wally, and frustrated Alice, became familiar figures. Dogbert, Dilbert’s pet, played a recurring role as a manipulative cynic. Notably, in 1993 Adams became the pioneering syndicated cartoonist to include his email address within his strips, fostering interactive dialogue and inspiring content. The strip became famous for its aphorisms about corporate absurdities and workplace dynamics. Adams’ work sometimes intersected with real-world repercussions: in 2007, an Iowa casino employee was dismissed for posting a "Dilbert" strip critical of workplace decisions, though a subsequent legal judgment ruled in the worker’s favor, with Adams assisting in securing new employment. Though Adams’ career thrived for decades, his later years showed a marked shift toward controversial and divisive viewpoints. He made public comments perceived as misogynistic, anti-immigration, and racist, such as equating societal treatment of women with that of children and the mentally disabled. An earlier blog post questioned elements of the Holocaust, and his tweets reflected grievances over perceived racial bias affecting his career trajectory. This ideological turn surfaced in the strip’s content as well, including satire targeting the evaluation of workers with what Adams called "wokeness" scores, drawing criticism for tone and message. Adams maintained a defiant stance in his final years on social media, rejecting claims of cancellation by mainstream media and expressing increased popularity among certain conservative groups. Following his death, former President Donald Trump recognized Adams as a "Great Influencer," commending his support and the courage he demonstrated battling illness.