Hollywood star Michael J. Fox is well known as a prominent advocate for Parkinson’s Disease research, as he suffers from the condition. However, CNN apparently received fake news, making its reporters believe that Fox was dead.
The Back to the Future actor spoke out after CNN published an article and video titled, “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox, while there were no other reports of the actor’s passing. According to his representative, Fox is alive and is “doing great.” The post on CNN has since been taken down, but not before it was captured by TMZ.
Uncertainty about Michael’s well-being stirred after CNN shared an article and video titled “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox.” There were no reports of his passing … and the post has since been taken down. pic.twitter.com/qOjINLQM1E
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 8, 2026
According to NBC News, Fox was forced to provide proof of life after CNN erroneously published the article and video on Tuesday. Apparently, it is common practice in the news industry to always prepare for the deaths of public figures in advance. The problem was that CNN published it in error.
“The package was published in error; we have removed it from our platforms and send our apologies to Michael J. Fox and his family,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement.
In the meantime, the Family Ties actor told his fans about the mix-up on Threads, writing:
“How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN is reporting your death? Do you…A) switch to MNSBC, or whatever they are calling themselves these days, (B) Pour scolding hot water on your lap, if it hurts your fine, (C) Call your wife, hopefully she’s concerned but reassuring, (D) Relax, they do this once every year, (E) Ask yourself w– ? I thought the world was ending, but apparently it’s just me and I’m ok. Love, Mike.”
However, this isn’t the first time that rumors of Fox’s passing have spread on the Internet. Back in 2014, the actor was trending on Twitter, which made fans believe he had died.
Michael J. Fox Had To Remind CNN He’s Still Here pic.twitter.com/VWDdpGujDo
— Wesley L. Austin (@Wesleylaustin) April 9, 2026
Fox’s representative contacted TMZ on Thursday, advising the news platform, “Michael is doing great. He was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and was giving interviews.”
Held in Los Angeles, Paleyfest is one of the nation’s premier media, television and entertainment festival, drawing together fans and their favorite stars. In Fox’s case, he appeared there to support season 3 of the Apple TV+ comedy series, Shrinking, with Harrison Ford.
CNN falsely reported Michael J. Fox had died.
Here he is alive and in good spirits on stage at PaleyFest on April 7th.
CNN has now apologized:
“The video was posted by mistake. We immediately removed it from the platform and sincerely apologize…” pic.twitter.com/Fv3CSWNmq1
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 9, 2026
Reportedly, Shrinking is the actor’s first acting role since 2020. According to Variety, Fox originally announced in his book “No Time Like the Future,” that he was retiring from acting. At the time, the actor told his fans that his Parkinson’s was making it difficult to be on a film set, and to memorize lines. However, it turned out on the Shrinking set, this didn’t matter.
“It was the first time ever I get to show up on-set, and I didn’t have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything,” Fox told People. “I just do it. It was really good, because for the moments when I say, ‘I’m not going to be able to do this,’ then I say, ‘Well, I’ll just deal with how I can’t do it in the scene.’ And you get through it.”
Michael J. Fox was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 29 in 1990. However, he didn’t go public with the diagnosis for another eight years. Since that time, he has founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Through the research, Fox has raised over $2 billion for research into the progressive neurological disorder.
