Betty White was not found dead in a hotel bathtub, despite the reports making the rounds on Twitter and social media in recent days.
A report of the 92-year-old actress’s death spread this week, but actually called on a report from back in May posted on the website eBuzzd. But many people failed to click on the site, where they would have seen that the report was nearly a month old and quite clearly fake. The site even picked the tacky headline, “Betty White Finally Kicks the Bucket at 92.”
The report noted that White was found “wearing a white nightgown” and “submerged in the oval tub, face-up.”
The bogus report added:
“The world is saddened today as we slowly learn more about the death of Hollywood legend Betty White. Authorities were called to the exclusive celebrity resort La Palomas at around 2 p.m. Monday after Whites’ body was found by resort staff, a law enforcement source told the eBuzzd. The source added that investigators do not suspect drugs or other foul-play to be a cause of her death at this time, but that testing and an autopsy is needed to determine a definitive cause of death.”
Betty White is not only very much alive, but enjoying a bit of a career revival. She is currently seen in season 5 of her show Hot in Cleveland. In March, TV Land announced that it had renewed the show for a sixth season, totaling 24 episodes.
The fake report that Betty White was found dead angered many people online, especially as it started trending on Twitter.
ok so betty white’s not dead? Stupid internet
— Zordabo (@Zordabo) June 23, 2014
Others expressed relief to find out that it was all a hoax.
THANK GOD IT’S ALL A HOAX. Betty White isn’t dead.
— Leon Downey (@ledow) June 23, 2014
Betty White is not the only celebrity to face a death hoax. In fact just about every major celebrity has seen rumors of their demise, owing mostly to the lightning-fast spread of news on social media and a growth in fake news outlets looking to garner views.