INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Robert Redford Is Alive And Well Despite Twitter Death Hoax

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 10:28 PST, Jan 1, 2016

Internet pranksters have been at it again — this time by posting a viral Twitter post stating Hollywood actor Robert Redford had died.

A tweet was doing the rounds of the Twittersphere on New Year’s Eve stating that Robert Redford, 79, had recently died after a fall from a golf cart in Santa Monica, California. The offending tweet was sent from a fake Twitter account set up to emulate Britain’s Sky News service.

As news of the so-called passing of the Oscar-winning legend spread through the social media platform, Twitter users immediately started posting “RIP” tributes to Redford.

Among the tweets by concerned Twitter users around 15 minutes after the hoax report was posted, many users posted their sadness at the news, saying Redford was an icon. One said that Robert Redford was a “looker in his day” and another posted that he was a “proper star.”

However, as soon as a publicist for Robert Redford found out about the viral post, she quickly confirmed that it was a hoax and the Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid actor was alive and well.

Cindi Berger, Redford’s publicist, went on to say that the tweet was a sick internet hoax.

“I just spoke to him and there is no truth to this whatsoever,” she said in a statement to Reuters, adding that Redford was at his home and was fine.

According to Reuters, the fake Twitter news feed where the Robert Redford hoax appeared, Sky Breaking News, has apparently been responsible to spreading other fake celebrity death reports in the past. Reportedly one of those hoaxes involved the so-called passing of actor John Travolta and the fake account has now been suspended by the social media platform.

According to the Independent, Robert Redford reportedly has neither a Twitter, nor Instagram account, so did not immediately issue a comment on the situation himself.

Robert Redford continues to work in film and has recently appeared in A Walk In The Woods, a comedy film about a man who returns to the U.S. after spending two decades in England. Instead of retiring and spending time with his loving wife and large family, his character decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to head off along the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.

The part of his friend was played by Nick Nolte and his wife in the film was played by the English actress, Emma Thompson. The film A Walk In The Woods received mixed reviews with IMBb users giving it a 6.4 star rating.

In his latest movie, Redford plays the role of Dan Rather in the recently-released “Rathergate” film Truth. He co-stars in the film with actress Cate Blanchett.

“Rathergate” is a derisive term which was applied to a set of four documents which were allegedly written by a former commanding officer of U.S. President George W. Bush in the early 1970s. The content of the documents was reportedly broadcast on the CBS program 60 Minutes Wednesday on September 8, 2004.

The documents were eventually revealed as being forgeries and this fact, along with the lack of proper news investigating techniques involved, got four senior producers at CBS in a whole lot of trouble, as well as causing the departure of long-time anchorman, Dan Rather, for whom the scandal was named.

Relating to the film, Truth, Robert Redford will reportedly be attending the Sundance Film Festival — an event he co-founded in 1981, hence the reference to his Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid character — in Utah later in January, alive and well.

[Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images Entertainment]

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