Is Robin Williams Dead? Actor Falls Victim To Twitter Death Hoax With Goldie Hawn Retweet
UPDATE 8/11/2014 7:24 p.m.: Williams was found dead Monday in his California home at age 63. The actor is believed to have committed suicide. A statement from his publicist indicated that Williams was suffering from "severe depression."
“Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time," the statement read.
Original story:
Is Robin Williams dead? No, Williams is in fact alive and was just the latest celebrity to be killed off by Twitter as the death hoax ran wild.
Williams' death was falsely reported on mediafetcher.com, which claimed the comedic actor fell 50 feet to his death in Austria's Hahnenkamm mountains while filming a movie.
The fake story gained steam on Twitter, where user @jcm1009 tweeted the story to a number of celebrities, including actress Goldie Hawn.
Hawn retweeted the user's tweet, but clarified that it was Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, not Robin Williams, who died.
Correction! Robin Gibbs [sic] has sadly passed. RIP @jcm1009:@goldiehawn Actor Robin Williams Falls To his death, she tweeted.
@jcm10009 repeatedly apologized to Hawn for spreading the fake Robin Williams death hoax.
Hawn reiterated the fact that Robin Williams is not dead when a Twitter follower asked if he had died.
@dkellydak NO Robin Williams in alive and well! Gibbs [sic] from the Bee Gee's Passed, she said.
According to IMDB, Williams is currently filming The Look Of Love, a film set to be released next year that also stars Ed Harris and Annette Benning. The movie is about a widow who falls for a man who looks like her dead husband.
Based on the synopsis, it's highly doubtful Williams who have been falling off cliffs for the movie, let alone shooting the film in Austria as the mediafetcher.com story falsely claimed.
Williams joins the long line of celebrities who have been killed off by Twitter, including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Chris Brown and Keanu Reeves. Even President Barack Obama fell victim to the Twitter death hoax.
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