Twitter Fans Angered by False Claims of Jackie Chan's Death
It was only a few months ago that Jackie Chan logged onto the Internet to let fans know that he did not have a heart attack and die as had been purported. Rumors of the action star's death have emerged once again, to the displeasure of fans.
The hoax involving the "Rush Hour" actor apparently started when someone created a Facebook community page titled "R.I.P. Jackie Chan (8/17/11)."
No reports of Chan being dead were present on the actor's official website, Facebook page, or Twitter account.
The "R.I.P. Jackie Chan (8/17/11)" page launched Tuesday had no comments or information, but had managed to collect at least 135,000 fans.
On Twitter, where the movie star's name was trending, fans that caught on to the hoax were less than amused.
Petey Wheatstraw (@DapperDebonairD) tweeted: "SMH. Ppl believe any and every thing... Jackie Chan is not dead!"
Ashlyn (@AshlynBrooke10) wrote: "Jackie Chan is not dead! People are so simple minded. People just make a like page for it and everyone believes it." Ashly added the hashtag "#idiots" to the end of her comment.
Fans also took to Chan's official Facebook page to express relief that the Chinese action star was still living.
There was no word from Chan regarding the recent false claim. The most recent updates on his Twitter and Facebook accounts were dated Tuesday, August 16.
In March, a single tweet declaring that the actor had died ignited the Internet and prompted Chan’s representatives to take to Twitter and Facebook to inform fans: "Jackie is alive and well. He did not suffer a heart attack and die, as was reported on many social networking sites and in online news reports."
Chan is not the only celebrity to have his death falsely reported on the Internet. Hilary Duff, Justin Bieber, and Will Smith have also suffered the same fate.
