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Macaulay Culkin Found Dead in Manhattan Apartment – Yet Another Hoax

Star shoots down false report, shows his sense of humor

Nov 9, 2014 18:37 GMT  ·  By
Macaulay Culkin laughs off death Internet rumors
   Macaulay Culkin laughs off death Internet rumors

Given Macaulay Culkin’s obvious desire to fly under the radar and earlier reports about his alleged drug use (at one point, the National Enquirer boldly claimed that his addiction was so bad that he only had about 6 more months to live), it’s very easy to trick people into believing that he died.

This turned out to be the case this weekend, when rumor of his death spread like wildfire over the Internet, fueled by at least 2 sources: one website impersonating MSNBC and a Facebook tribute page, mourning his passing.

Both managed to fool many of the former child star’s fans into thinking he had passed away at the age of 34, probably from drugs.

Macaulay Culkin is dead, website announces

Celebrities are often targeted by these death hoaxes, but Macaulay must be holding some kind of record: this is the second time in 7 months that he’s being killed off online like this. The ease with which the hoaxers fooled his fans again is one unbelievable feat as well.

BuzzFeed reports that the story originated from a website trying to pass as the real MSNBC. It ran the “breaking news” that the former “Home Alone” star, one of the biggest child stars of all times, had been found dead in a Manhattan apartment, when police performed a wellness checkup at a relative’s request.

Friends had already confirmed to the police that the apartment belonged to the star, and had identified the body. However, the report said, police were not releasing the name of the deceased until all formalities were completed.

A source from inside the police department hinted that no drug paraphernalia had been found on the scene, but a drug OD wasn’t yet ruled out as cause of death: toxicology results would have to determine that.

Once the rumor broke and spread online, a fake memorial Facebook page for the actor was set up, which was considered by fans “confirmation” of his passing. The page is no longer online as we speak.

Macaulay is not dead, but he still has his sense of humor

Hours after he was reported dead, Macaulay was tweeting and even posting photos of himself with his bandmembers. Right now, the former actor is touring the US with his band, called Pizza Underground.

That wasn’t enough to convince people that he wasn’t dead, so he tweeted a message to all those concerned about him, urging them not to believe everything they read online: he was alive, he was ok, and he was on tour.

That didn’t work either. Faced with no other way to prove the hoax, Macaulay chose to make fun of the situation instead: and he did that by posting a joke referencing comedy “Weekend at Bernie’s” (1989), in which two guys pretend their boss Bernie is still alive. The joke was actually a photo in which he posed as if he was dead.

So, yes, his sense of humor is intact.