Everyone, chill. Sylvester Stallone is still very much alive and “punching”.
The internet on Monday evening was awash with fresh rumours of the 71-year-old actor and filmmaker’s apparent death.
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Remarkably, it all seems to stem from a Facebook update posted on Sunday, subsequently shared over 1.7-million times.
“Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone died early this morning after his battle with prostate cancer, the actor kept his illness a secret, but in the end he couldn’t beat it,” it read.
Some sent their condolences, others questioned if the news was indeed true.
We’ll always miss our rocky pic.twitter.com/HCBAhxGcdr
— NeopateighIV (@Neopateigh4Iv) February 19, 2018
Rest In Peace Legend …
#SylvesterStallone #RIPSylvesterStallone pic.twitter.com/kzyesljBnU — ن
(@NaderElatrache) February 19, 2018
But the man himself took to Instagram to rubbish the rumours.
“Please ignore this stupidity… Alive and well and happy and healthy… Still punching!” he wrote.
Sylvester Stallone’s brother Frank also took to Twitter to shout at the “mentally deranged” netizens who spread the rumours.
“Rumours that my brother is dead are false. What kind of sick demented cruel mind thinks of things like this to post? People like this are mentally deranged and don’t deserve a place in society,” he wrote.
Rumors that my brother is dead are false. What kind of sick demented cruel mind thinks of things like this to post? People like this are mentally deranged and don’t deserve a place in society.@FoxNews @seanhannity @greggutfeld
— Frank Stallone (@Stallone) February 19, 2018
It’s definitely not the first time the internet has wrongfully killed off a celebrity, but it is the second time in two years that Stallone was the victim.
In September 2016, Twitter users also paid their respects to a (yes, you guessed it) still very alive Rocky Balboa.
#ripsylvesterstallone #rocky you will be missed
— Jeremy Deeter (@Jeremydeeter17) September 3, 2016
If you find it difficult to identify the fact from the fiction on the internet — also known as the place where no one ever tells a lie — Memeburn’s guide for double-checking false news is just for you.
Feature image: screenshot, Sylvester Stallone (@OfficialSlyStallone) via Instagram
