It pays to be a celebrity. Things can be blown out of proportion, sometimes to their advantage, particularly if they have a movie coming up and sometimes for all the wrong reasons. Many celebrities have become victims of death hoax over the years and 10 more people, including John Cena, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, James Earl Jones, Willie Nelson and Will Smith have joined the list this year.
Here is the list of celebrities who have fallen victims to death hoax in 2015 (till August):
Ricky Martin
It was reported that the "Livin' la Vida Loca" singer died in a car accident in January 2015, drawing widespread reaction from fans, but it was just another celebrity hoax. He is very much alive.
Gene Hackman
Earlier this year, Grantland sparked off rumors of the 86-year-old actor's death with its headline "The Greatest Living American Actor at 85: Gene Hackman Is Gone But Still in Charge". The word "gone" was later changed to "retired", but the harm was already done with fans taking to social media websites to express their sadness.
John Cena
The 38-year-old wrestler was in news for all the wrong reasons in March this year after a an old death hoax news resurfaced on social media and went viral. The fake news claimed that John Cena died in a road accident on 5 March, creating confusion among his fans around the globe.
Willie Nelson
Facebook page "RIP Willie Nelson" claimed that the 81-year-old American singer-songwriter died on 6 March. It went viral after fans started sharing it on social networking sites, but it turned out to be just another celebrity death hoax.
Will Smith
The American actor was all over the internet a few months ago with rumors of his death spreading like wildfire on social media. A Facebook page claimed that he died on 16 April, 2015, but it turned out to be fake.
Martin Lawrence
In what seemed to be a trick for more likes, pranksters created an "RIP" Facebook page for Martin Lawrence, claiming that he died on 14 April, 2015. The page went viral and got over 1 million likes in a short span of time, but report of the actor's death was untrue.
Jackie Chan
The martial arts legend became a victim of death hoax in May this year with rumors of his death spreading on social media and fans from across the globe expressing their shock. The actor had to take to his Facebook page to declare that he was alive and well.
Maggie Wheeler
Fans of the "FRIENDS" actor took to social media to express their sadness after a few websites reported that she died of suspected heart attack in her bedroom on 12 August this year. However, it turned out to be just another death hoax.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
A report by MSMBC dated 27 August claimed that the actor-turned-politician was found dead at his California home. It went on to say that that the police received a 911 emergency call for an "unresponsive male" and found the 68-year-old "Terminator" actor on his bed upon reaching the home. But the actor is very much alive.
