John Witherspoon: “I Ain’t Dead”

John Witherspoon is the latest victim of the Twitter death hoax, but the veteran actor is alive and well.

“RIP John Witherspoon” had been trending on the social network — which is notorious for killing people — and, unsurprisingly, Witherspoon noticed and responded. He tweeted,

“Hey but since I’m #Trending y’all better follow me and spread the word that “I AINT DEAD” Sh****t I’m too busy Getting this money 2 die haha”

The 70-year-old actor took advantage of the fact that he was being talked about and promoted his cooking show with a link to his YouTube channel. He also said,

“Just wanna say Thank You #Twitter for making me Internet Famous for about 35-45min now yall should hook my Account up and #Verify it #Playa”

John Witherspoon — not to be confused with Reese Witherspoon’s father, who bears the same name — has appeared in over 20 television shows and movies. He is most famous for his role as Willie Jones, Ice Cube’s father in the Friday series, but is also well-known for his role as Pops in The Wayans Brothers and Granddad on The Boondocks.

The husband and father of two is actually quite busy, despite the death rumors. He will be performing at the Fort Lauderdale Improv this weekend, and then will be beginning production on the TV show, The First Family, which is about the “integration of a black president and his family in the White House.”

John Witherspoon joins a growing list of celebrities who have been killed off on Twitter, including Eddie Murphy, Usher, Paul McCartney, and Adam Sandler.