Eddie Murphy Dead: Another Celebrity Death Hoax Aimed at Actor

Eddie Murphy is NOT dead. We repeat -- Eddie Murphy is NOT dead. This is the second time in just a few short months that the Internet has killed off yet another celebrity.

Rumors that actor Eddie Murphy had died began circulating the Internet last night, on Friday. The hashtag RIP Eddie Murphy began trending wildly on Twitter as fans voiced their grief at the sudden (fake) passing of Murphy. The actor is very much alive.

TMZ discovered that the rumor rooted back to a Web site called MediaFetcher.com. The site has reportedly been spinning numerous bogus celebrity death hoaxes including those about Jon Bon Jovi, Charlie Sheen, Adam Sandler, TooShort, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Luke Perry, Jack Black, Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Tom Green, Mac Miller, Tiger Woods, George Clooney and others.

MediaFetch.com wrote: Actor Eddie Murphy died in a single vehicle crash between Ipswich and Willowbank in Queensland as confirmed by Royal Queensland Police -- Feb. 3, 2012. The accident occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +10). Eddie Murphy is believed to have been in the area while on vacation. He was identified by photo ID found at the scene. Alcohol and drugs do not appear to have been a factor in this accident.

Global Associated News then reported that he died after his luxury yacht crashed off St. Tropez: The French Maritime Gendarmerie, a division of the French Navy, responded to distress calls from 10 persons aboard a 120′ luxury yacht cruising off of the coast of St. Tropez. Actor Eddie Murphy was reportedly vacationing aboard the privately chartered vessel.

Both reports are obviously false. Murphy was previously killed off in early December when gossip spread that he died after a snowboarding accident in Switzerland.

Celebrity death hoaxes have become quite popular lately. From Drake to Jon Bon Jovi to Adele, Web sites are killing off some of the most beloved artists around!

Some of the victims have joined in on the joke. After news spread that Jon Bon Jovi died around Christmas, the New Jersey rocker tweeted a photo of himself holding up a sign that read Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey.

Anonymous tweeted Friday night, RIP Eddie Murphy? Man, Twitter kills more people each year than cars, airplanes and trucks combined!