'Dilbert' Creator and Right-Wing Commentator Scott Adams Dies at Age 68

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Scott Adams, the creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip, has died at age 68, his ex-wife announced Tuesday.

Adams revealed last spring that he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer, and his doctors only gave him months to live, The New York Times reported.

In November, he wrote in a social media post that his health was “declining fast,” and that he had run into insurance issues trying to get a drug approved for him administered.

President Donald Trump responded at the time on Truth Social, “On it!” according to the Times.

Trump posted on social media following Adams’ death, “Sadly, the Great Influencer, Scott Adams, has passed away. He was a fantastic guy, who liked and respected me when it wasn’t fashionable to do so. He bravely fought a long battle against a terrible disease. My condolences go out to his family, and all of his many friends and listeners. He will be truly missed. God bless you Scott!”

In a final message penned on Jan. 1 and read by his ex-wife, Shelly Miles, on Tuesday, Adams wrote, “If you are reading this, things did not go well for me.”

“Many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I’m not a believer, but I have to admit the risk/reward calculation for doing so looks so attractive to me,” he continued.

“So, here I go, I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And look forward to spending an eternity with Him,” Adams wrote. “The part about me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won’t need any more convincing than that. I hope I’m still qualified for entry.”

In a video posted on social media last week, Adams indicated that he would be converting to Christianity.

If Adams was concerned about whether his late conversion would be a factor of God accepting him, the Bible records that Jesus told one of the thieves hanging on a cross next to him who expressed faith, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The New York Times reported that the “Dilbert” comic strip first appeared in print in 1989.

“At its peak, ‘Dilbert; was syndicated to about 2,000 newspapers internationally, placing it in the realm of other popular syndicated strips like ‘Peanuts,’ ‘Doonesbury’ and ‘Garfield.’ Mr. Adams also published numerous ‘Dilbert’ collections and wrote business books, including ‘The Dilbert Principle,’ which posits that ‘the most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage — management.’”

In 2022, one of his “Dilbert” strips poked fun at “woke culture,” with a boss informing his employees that traditional performance reviews would be replaced by a “wokeness” score, CBS News reported.

When an employee complained, the boss said, “That’ll cost you two points off your wokeness score, bigot.”

Adams experienced a fall from grace in February 2023 while discussing a poll on his podcast that found only 53 percent of black Americans agreed with the statement, “It’s OK to be white.”

Adams told his listeners that he didn’t realize that he had accidentally joined a hate group.

“So I realized, as you know, I’ve been identifying as black for a while, for years now, because I like to be on the winning team and I like to help,” he elaborated, obviously tongue-in-cheek.

“But it turns out that nearly half of that team doesn’t think I’m OK to be white,” Adams continued, saying that the poll made him decide to “re-identify as white, because I don’t want to be a member of a hate group.”

“Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people,” he said. “Wherever you have to go, just get away, because there’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed … You just have to escape.”

WARNING: The following video contains language that some may find offensive.

Adams sought to explain his remarks in a later podcast, saying that he was not a racist and had been engaging in hyperbole, according to The New York Times.

The damage was done, however, as major newspapers like The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, and the USA Today Network dropped “Dilbert.”

Adams said that he lost 80 percent of his income due to the cancellations.

The artist soon resurrected his comic strip as “Dilbert Reborn” and made it available by paid subscription.

Contributing Journalist

SummaryMore Biographical InformationRecent PostsContact

Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."

Birthplace

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Nationality

American

Honors/Awards

Graduated dean's list from West Point

Education

United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law

Books Written

We Hold These Truths

Professional Memberships

Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars

Location

Phoenix, Arizona

Languages Spoken

English

Topics of Expertise

Politics, Entertainment, Faith

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