Scott Adams, 'Dilbert' cartoonist and author who pushed on through cancelation, dies at 68

Scott Adams, whose comic portion “Dilbert” defined a definite benignant of workplace civilization for much than 30 yearsbefore its writer was canceled implicit perceived racist remarks, has died aft a conflict with metastatic prostate cancer. He was 68.

The announcement came Tuesday via Adams’ YouTube channel, wherever helium livestreamed regular until Monday morning.

The cartoonist, whose highly adust wit and heterodox governmental beliefs were connected nationalist show successful caller years connected his regular livestream “Coffee With Scott Adams,” spoke straight to his assemblage astir up to his death, getting immoderate assistance from friends successful his last days. .

Adams revealed his Stage 4 crab diagnosis successful May 2025, soon aft erstwhile President Biden’s metastatic prostate crab diagnosis went public.

“Some of you person already guessed, truthful this won’t astonishment you astatine all, but I person the aforesaid crab Joe Biden has,” helium said connected his May 19, 2025, livestream. “I besides person prostate crab that has besides dispersed to my bones, but I’ve had it longer than he’s had it. Well, longer than he’s admitted having it.”

He noted that helium and the erstwhile commandant successful main some had “the atrocious kind” of prostate cancer.

“There’s thing you request to cognize astir prostate cancer,” helium said. “If it’s localized and it hasn’t near your prostate, it’s 100% curable. But if it leaves your prostate and spreads to different parts of your assemblage ... it is 100% not curable.”

As of past May, Adams had been utilizing a walker for months and dealing with unspeakable symptom because, helium said, the crab had dispersed to his bones.

Given each that, helium said, “my beingness expectancy is possibly this summer. I expect to beryllium checking retired from this domain sometime this summer.” But Adams outlived that prediction, livestreaming from his infirmary furniture during a enactment for radiation attraction earlier Christmas and picking up again from his furniture astatine location aft that.

Born Scott Raymond Adams connected June 8, 1957, successful Windham, N.Y., to a postal clerk begetter and a existent property cause mother, helium started drafting cartoons erstwhile helium was 6. Adams was valedictorian astatine Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School, got his bachelor’s successful economics from Hartwick College successful Oneonta, N.Y., and past moved to California, wherever helium earned a master’s successful concern medication astatine UC Berkeley.

He proceeded to enactment for years astatine Crocker National Bank and Pacific Bell, holding the types of generic firm bureau jobs his comic portion would usage arsenic fodder. While helium was astatine PacBell, helium awakened regular earlier dawn to effort to fig retired an alternate career. Cartooning won out.

“Dilbert,” which launched successful 1989, went from moving successful a fistful of papers to, astatine its peak, appearing successful much than 2,000 outlets successful 57 countries and 19 languages. Adams received the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award, the industry’s highest honor, successful 1997. Page-a-day “Dilbert” calendars were apical sellers for years, with much than 20 cardinal calendars and “Dilbert” books successful print.

His titles included galore comic compilations, but besides concern books similar “Win Bigly” and “How to Lose Almost Every Time and Still Win Big.”

“If you bask learning however to beryllium much effectual successful beingness portion catching up with the absorbing news, this is the transmission for you,” work the statement connected his YouTube page.

In February 2023, remarks Adams made connected his podcast were interpreted arsenic racist, starring to superior consequences successful his career.

During a midweek livestream, Adams had riffed disconnected the results of a canvass that asked whether radical agreed with the connection “It’s OK to beryllium white.” Among Black respondents, 26% disagreed and 21% said they were not definite — a full of 47% who didn’t deliberation it was OK to beryllium white.

(The seemingly innocuous operation “It’s OK to beryllium white” had been co-opted successful 2017 for an online trolling run aimed astatine baiting liberals and the media, the Anti-Defamation League said successful a connection astatine the time. The operation besides has a past of usage among achromatic supremacists.)

“If astir fractional of each Blacks are not OK with achromatic radical ... that’s a hatred group. And I don’t privation thing to bash with them,” Adams said successful his accustomed deadpan delivery. “And based connected however things are going, the champion proposal I could springiness to achromatic radical is to get the hellhole distant from Black people. Just get the f— away. Wherever you person to go, conscionable get away. ’Cause there’s nary fixing this. This can’t beryllium fixed.”

He continued, inactive deadpan, “So I deliberation it makes nary consciousness whatsoever, arsenic a achromatic national of America, to effort to assistance Black citizens anymore. It doesn’t marque sense. There’s nary longer a rational impulse. And truthful I’m going to backmost disconnected from being adjuvant to Black America, due to the fact that it doesn’t look similar it pays off. Like, I’ve been doing it each my beingness and the lone result is I get called a racist.”

Within days, amid backlash astir Adams’ expected racism, “Dilbert” was dropped by a fig of newspapers including the Los Angeles Times. Then his syndicator, which had provided “Dilbert” to each outlets that published the comic, shed him arsenic a lawsuit entirely. And Penguin Random House slammed the doorway unopen erstwhile it nixed work of his publication “Reframe Your Brain,” which would person travel retired that fall, and removed his backmost catalog from its offerings.

Adams discussed his ain cancellation aft the fact, saying a fewer days aboriginal connected his livestream that helium had been utilizing hyperbole, “meaning an exaggeration,” to marque a point. He said the stories that reported his comments had utilized a trick: “The instrumentality is conscionable to usage my punctuation and to disregard the discourse which I helpfully added afterwards.”

But helium said that cipher would disagree with his 2 main points, which had been to “treat each individuals arsenic individuals, nary discrimination” and “avoid thing that statistically looks similar a atrocious thought for you personally.” He besides disavowed racists.

Adams coiled up self-publishing “Reframe Your Brain” successful August 2023 with a dedication that read, “For the Simultaneous Sippers (Thank you for redeeming me.)”

Even aft his excommunication from the mainstream, Adams’ weekday greeting livestreams regularly garnered tens of thousands of views connected YouTube

Adams joined woman Shelly Miles, a parent of two, successful 2006, and the matrimony lasted 8 years. The 2 remained friends aft their 2014 divorce, and successful 2018 Adams learned that his stepson Justin, whom helium said helium had “raised from the property of 2,” was dormant of an overdose astatine 18 aft years of battling addiction. Adams fought backmost tears arsenic helium explained successful his livestream that Justin’s decision-making abilities suffered aft a caput wounded sustained successful a motorcycle mishap erstwhile helium was 14.