Johnny Depp Latest Victim Of Celebrity Death Hoax

Just days after injuring himself on the set of The Lone Ranger, Johnny Depp has become the latest victim of the celebrity death hoax. The 49-year-old is alive and well — albeit a little bit beaten up — but will be performing fewer stunts from here on out.

Sadly, someone did die while working on The Lone Ranger. Mike Bridger, a 48-year-old crew member, went into full cardiac arrest while he was cleaning a pool tank on the movie’s set. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital as EMTs tried to restart his heart, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital on September 21.

Bridger had over 20 years of experience in the film industry, and worked alongside producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who respected his work on the first Pirates of the Caribbean film so much that he hired him back for the film’s three sequels and The Lone Ranger. 

Bridger’s family does not blame the production company for his death, and investigators treated it as a “natural death” from a heart attack.

This is not the first time rumors have surfaced that Johnny Depp had died. In 2010, a fake CNN website reported that the actor had died in a car crash in France. The “accident” took place in Bordeaux, where Depp’s car was reportedly found with a guard rail embedded into it. Supposedly alcohol was involved. Actor Crispin Glover put an end to the rumor by calling Depp, who responded, “Not dead, in France.”

The Lone Ranger is set to hit theaters July 3, 2013. You can check out the trailer here.