Rapper Eminem is the youngest victim, but Axl Rose and Stefan Raab are also among the prominent group of those falsely declared dead.
There is one thing with false death reports: Nobody likes to read about their own death on the internet or in the newspaper. On the other hand, such a fake also has a certain strange charm. At least if you take it with humor. After all, there is a certain reason to be happy to be able to deny such misinformation wholeheartedly. And then it seems as if the boldest fakes are only given to the really big stars.
The latest victim of the macabre pranks comes from the rap Olympus: Rumors circulated on Twitter about the death of Eminem (47, "Revival") after the hashtag #RIPEminem began to trend. But the artist should be in the best of health. According to US media reports, the trigger for the rumors was a tweet saying, "I killed Eminem." The hashtag should also come from this account, which has now been blocked. Eminem is one of a long line of stars who have been wrongly declared dead – and sometimes even responded with funny denials.
Mark Twain: "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated"
One of the first – and quickest – victims of such hoaxes was the writer Mark Twain (1835-1910, "Tom Sawyer"). To his own surprise, he learned from the newspaper in 1897 that he had died. "The rumors about my death are greatly exaggerated," the sharp-tongued writer then clarified in the "New York Journal".
Britney Spears gives the all-clear with Collage
Britney Spears (38) was declared dead via the official Sony Music Twitter account of all things. After all, little seems out of place in the black 2016. But the fans could breathe a sigh of relief – with an amusing collage "Brit" reported back among the officially alive.
William Shatner: Unsightly birthday surprise
"Star Trek" legend William Shatner (89) was pronounced dead the day before his 87th birthday. On social media, a company wanted users to believe that the actor died shortly before his birthday. Shatner got wind of it because a fan drew his attention to the false obituary on Twitter. The hoax was apparently spread via Facebook's messenger app. A Facebook employee eventually told Shatner that the hoax had been deleted. "Thank you," the Captain Kirk actor replied, adding, "I have no plans to die yet, so please keep blocking ads like this."
Even the Queen is not immune
Even Queen Elizabeth II (94) is not safe from fakes from the BBC – even if she has not yet been completely declared dead. A reporter posted on Twitter in 2015 that Elizabeth had been hospitalized. The BBC later stated: The tweet was part of an internal exercise, with which the fastest possible reporting of a so-called "category one death report" should be trained.
"I dead?" – Axl Rose wants to save taxes
What the Queen said about the broadcasting faux pas is not known. But how Guns-n'-Roses frontman Axl Rose (58, "November Rain") reacted to an online fake at the end of 2014. Hours after the news was published, the star posted a simple question on his Twitter account that dispelled all doubts: "If I'm dead, will I still have to pay taxes?" A few hours later he added a photo that was apparently supposed to show him in the afterlife.
"The Rock" denies stunt death
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (48, "Jumanji") is the highest paid actor of 2020 according to Forbes and is in excellent health. In 2014, however, he had to clarify this after a false death report. A Facebook post that went viral claimed "The Rock" died in a stunt on the set of "Fast & Furious 7". The actor didn't let that sit on him. "Rumors of my death are wrong – I'm still there, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – including the leap year!" On Twitter, he added, "I would love to meet the person who spreads rumors of my death – to show them what a dead foot feels like on their bum."
Stefan Raab: There are also fakes in Germany
It is not known whether Stefan Raab (53, "Wadde Hadde Dudde Da") took the fictitious news with humor. "At the age of 49, Stefan Raab was found dead in his garden at 11:29 pm today, so far no family member has officially commented," wrote a fake page in the look of ProSieben in early March 2016. Apparently everything just to access user data. Which at least proves: Even some German hackers are not too good for any stupid action.
Patricia Kelly: "Something like that must be banned!"
In May 2020 Patricia Kelly (50) was also the victim of a false report in this country. In a video, a YouTube channel declared her dead, as reported by "Bild". Tasteless joke or a secret motive? The reasons for the original release are unknown, the video can no longer be found. According to the report, the singer apparently had the clip blocked by means of an injunction and said: "I don't know what kind of sick people do that. We stopped that directly with my manager. Something like that must be banned!"
Morgan Freeman: This world and the next take nothing
Morgan Freeman (83, "The Contract") demonstrated humor. The actor has already heard of his demise several times online. At the end of 2012, for example, a Facebook page was launched to announce that Freeman had died of a ruptured artery. After a good half a million likes, Freeman himself reacted on his profile: "I keep reading that I died. I hope these stories are not true. If so, I am glad to be able to tell you that my life is going to follow death is identical to the life in which I was still alive. "
Abe Vigoda: Resisting fake death for 34 years
Nobody knew as well as Abe Vigoda (1921-2016) that one, two or even many false reports of death are nothing to worry about. As early as 1982, the magazine "People" had falsely reported the death of the "godfather" star, and in 1987 a television reporter made the same mistake. Since then, not only Vigoda has been having fun with alleged death reports. The specially created website "abevigoda.com" was also dedicated solely to the task of displaying the degree of Vigoda's liveliness. It wasn't until January 2016, at the age of 94 and 32 years after the first hoax, that Vigoda actually died.
Paul McCartney: Paul Is Live!
Paul McCartney (78) is also a particularly stubborn living person. Supporters of a Beatles conspiracy theory have believed since 1969 that McCartney has not been with us for a long time. Back then, fans wanted to have recognized a hidden hint on the cover of "Abbey Road": McCartney can be seen barefoot in the legendary picture, unlike his band colleagues. In the lyrics of the song, followers even thought they saw evidence of the circumstances of death. 27 years after his alleged death, McCartney released the album "Paul Is Live" in 1993 – but not everyone wants to believe him to this day.