Face of the Day

Scott Adams, who became a hero to millions of cubicle-dwelling office workers as the creator of the satirical comic strip Dilbert, only to rebrand himself as a digital provocateur – at home in the Trump era’s right-wing mediasphere – with inflammatory comments about race, politics and identity, died January 13. He was 68.

His former wife Shelly Miles Adams announced his death in a livestream, reading a statement she said Adams had prepared before his death. “I had an amazing life,” the statement said in part. “I gave it everything I had.”

Adams announced in May 2025 that he had metastatic prostate cancer, with only months to live. In a YouTube livestream, he said he had tried to avoid discussing his diagnosis (“once you go public, you’re just the dying cancer guy”) but decided to speak up after US President Joe Biden revealed he had the same illness.

“I’d like to extend my respect and compassion for the ex-president and his family because they’re going through an especially tough time,” he said. “It’s a terrible disease.”

NZ Herald