“WTF?” Michael J. Fox doesn’t like being made to look dead!
The big guy from CNN, who broadcast a video “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox” made the person in question laugh moderately… alive and well.
“The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated” joked Mark Twain more than a century ago. Michael J. Fox could say the same in 2026.
A tribute video published by CNN yesterday briefly suggested the disappearance of Michael J. Fox. Except no. The actor is very much alive and he made it known with an intact sense of repartee.
Wednesday April 8, 2026, the American channel broadcasts a montage celebrating the career of the star of Back to the future. Problem: the title, “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox” (in French: “In memory of the career of Michael J. Fox”) clearly gives the impression that the actor has died. In a few minutes, the video goes viral and triggers a wave of concern on the networks. But Michael J. Fox, true to himself, was quick to calm everyone down, by posting this message on Threads, between irony and self-deprecation:
“How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN announces your death? Do you… A) tune in to MSNBC, or whatever they’re called these days, B) pour boiling water on your knees (if it hurts, it’s okay), C) call your wife and hope she’s both worried and reassuring, D) Relax, it happens to you once a year, E) Ask yourself ‘WTF?’ I thought the end of the world had come, but apparently it’s just the end of me… and I’m fine. Love, Mike.”
In the process, CNN deleted the video and published a correction: the broadcast was an error. The channel apologizes to the actor and his family.
Uncertainty about Michael’s well-being stirred after CNN shared an article and video titled “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox.” There were no reports of his passing … and the post has since been taken down. pic.twitter.com/qOjINLQM1E
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 8, 2026
More fear than harm therefore, and a fright quickly defused thanks to the humor of the man who remains one of the most beloved faces in Hollywood. Behind this somewhat absurd anecdote, Michael J. Fox is pursuing a very real fight: that against Parkinson’s disease. Diagnosed in 1991 at just 29 years old, he made his illness public in 1998 before creating, in 2000, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has today become a world reference in research.
