For some reason, the Internets like to make up stories of celebrities dying. The result is a bunch of confusion and possibly unnecessary tumultuous feelings–all for the sake of some website traffic.
This wasn’t a plot planned by his nemesis, Jerry, at all– it was merely an inconsiderate act by a website to be remained nameless.
At a time when most news is heard first on the internet or via social media, the effectiveness of the prank moved fast. Many fans Tweeted their grief:
@PerezHilton oh no Newman (Wayne Knight) is dead!
— Kim R Newcomb (@Burbongoth) March 16, 2014
Holy S**t Wayne Knight is dead
— Chris Pranckunas (@C_Pranck21) March 16, 2014
until Wayne Knight himself used the good of Twitter to send out a quick press release sure to spread as quickly as the rumor:
Some of you will be glad to hear this, others strangely disappointed, but….I am alive and well!
— Wayne Knight (@iWayneKnight) March 16, 2014
True to his profession, he also threw in a dart at the trending culture of social media,
Does someone have to DIE to trend? Geez! Thanks for all the love everybody. I didn’t know you cared. Glad to be breathing!
— Wayne Knight (@iWayneKnight) March 16, 2014
then added a more serious tweet addressed to friends and family before retweeting a related post.
Regrets to my friends and family who were shocked this morning and the family of the woman who actually died in my “supposed” accident.
— Wayne Knight (@iWayneKnight) March 16, 2014
Although it is a relief that Wayne Knight has not died in the crash, we are sure that the family of the 26-year-old who has died and the three critically injured people who were reported to actually be in the crash do not feel the same relief. So while there is room for a comedian to joke about his death, it just doesn’t feel right to brush things off as “alls well that ends well”– The actual people hurt in the accident just aren’t famous enough to make a social media trending topic.
In yet another strange case of celebrities, normal people, death, social media and those affected by it, an accident that will forever affect the friends and family of those in the actual car crash has been dismissed as a hoax because someone decided to falsely attach a celebrity to it.
Our condolences to those in the actual crash that Wayne was purported to be in, and hello, Newman–we’re glad that you’re okay.
Image via NDN
