Is Denzel Washington dead? No. But the veteran actor is the latest victim of a death hoax orchestrated by Twitter. Washington, star of "Man on Fire" and "Malcolm X," is alive and well.
REUTERS
Denzel Washington is not dead. C'mon, guys.
The incredibly dubious "news" outlet Global Associated News began spreading the story to Twitter, claiming that Denzel Washington met his end after a snowboarding accident.
"The actor & novice snowboarder was vacationing at the Zermatt ski resort in Zermatt, Switzerland with family and friends. Witnesses indicate that Denzel Washington lost control of his snowboard and struck a tree at a high rate of speed," the site claimed.
Of course, no credible news outlet has reported on the obviously false story, but that hasn't stopped Twitter users from "memorializing" the beloved actor with tweets about his supposed demise.
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"Denzel Washington died?! :( #snowboardingaccident," read one tweet from user @sillyJenelleee.
The tweet was one of many the fell for the death hoax, though Denzel Washington, of course, remains alive.
What's truly depressing, however, is that Washington's death hoax comes so close to the death of famed director Tony Scott. Scott directed Washington in the thrillers "Crimson Tide," "Déjà vu," "Man on Fire," "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," and "Unstoppable."
The two were reported to be close friends, and Washington attended Scott's funeral on Tuesday, suspending production on his latest film, "The Counselor."
"Tony Scott was a great director, a genuine friend and it is unfathomable to think that he is now gone," Washington told E! News.
It's not a huge shock that someone like Washington could be the target of such irresponsible rumors, however, as many other celebrities have been hit with similarly unfounded death hoaxes.
Remy Ma, Reese Witherspoon, Eddie Murphy, Kanye West, Jeff Goldblum, Britney Spears, Morgan Freeman, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, Kim Jong-Un, Phil Collins, Gotye, Pitbull, Usher, Robin Williams, Keke Palmer, Patrick Dempsey, Chingy, Paul McCartney, Rowan Atkinson, Madonna, Soulja Boy, Adele, Demi Moore, Jon Bon Jovi, Cher, Tony Danza, Jackie Chan, Hugh Hefner, Mick Jagger are among the many to have found themselves at the mercy of Internet pranksters who claimed that they were dead on Twitter, often by getting a tweet starting with "R.I.P." or "RIP" to go viral on social media sites, especially Twitter.
Oddly enough, a disproportionate amount of the rumors involve snowboards.
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