The final message from the late “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams was reportedly released publicly on Tuesday, offering a deeply personal reflection on faith, work, and purpose just days after his death at age 68.
Adams, who died from cancer, used his farewell message to look back on his life and career and to share his conversion to Christianity. In the statement, he said he accepted Jesus Christ as his lord and savior and expressed hope about what lies beyond this life.
“I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him,” Adams wrote. He added that any doubts about belief would be quickly resolved if he awoke in heaven, saying he would need no further convincing and hoped he was still qualified for entry.
The longtime cartoonist and author encouraged fans to continue his legacy by engaging with and sharing his work. Adams said a turning point in his life came after his divorce, when he found himself searching for new meaning and direction. That search, he explained, reshaped how he approached his writing, commentary, and public work.
He took pride in the impact of his books, particularly “Win Bigly,” which he said had a meaningful influence on the world. Adams is best known for creating Dilbert, which debuted in 1989 and became a cultural staple for its sharp satire of office life, management culture, and corporate bureaucracy. For decades, the strip resonated with workers who saw their own frustrations reflected in Adams’ humor.
Adams also highlighted his podcast, “Coffee With Scott Adams,” saying it was dedicated to helping people think about the world and their own lives in a more productive way. He described his life as full and exhausting in the best sense.
“I had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had,” he wrote. Adams asked those who benefited from his work to pay it forward and emphasized that usefulness, not fame, was the legacy he hoped to leave behind. He ended his message by telling readers he loved them to the end.
In the later years of his career, Adams became a polarizing figure. In February 2023, he sparked backlash after discussing the results of a poll that asked respondents whether they agreed with the phrase “It’s OK to be white.” Citing the results during a livestream, Adams made remarks about black Americans that drew widespread condemnation. He later said he was using hyperbole to make a broader point and explicitly disavowed racism.
Following the controversy, many newspapers dropped “Dilbert” from publication. Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Random House, canceled plans to publish Adams’ self-help book “Reframe Your Brain,” and Andrews McMeel Universal, the former distributor of “Dilbert,” ended its relationship with him.
After his death, some outlets framed Adams primarily through the lens of controversy. People Magazine described him as “disgraced,” while NPR and Deadline labeled him “controversial.” Others offered a more sympathetic view. Vice President JD Vance praised Adams as a “great ally” to President Donald Trump and his administration. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said Adams faced death with “clarity, courage, and honesty.”
Adams revealed in May that he had prostate cancer and later confirmed in January that his illness was terminal, complicated by lower-body paralysis and heart failure. His final message, focused on faith and gratitude rather than bitterness, offered a closing chapter that stood in stark contrast to the turmoil of his final years and underscored how he wanted to be remembered.
