After a CNN video sparked sudden concerns that he had died, actor Michael J. Fox humorously responded to the controversy late Wednesday night, joking, “They do this once every year.”
Earlier that day, CNN released a video on its online platforms titled “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox.” Predictably, the video led many to wonder whether Fox had suddenly passed away. The video has since been deleted, and CNN apologized to Fox and his family in a statement given to People.
“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 told the publication. The video in question featured interview clips of Fox as well as scenes from different movies and TV shows he has starred in over the course of his illustrious career.
In a statement to TMZ, a representative for Fox confirmed that the actor was doing just fine in the wake of the CNN video, telling the publication, “Michael is doing great. He was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and was giving interviews.”
The CNN mishap nonetheless prompted Fox to write a message on Threads late Wednesday both assuring fans that he is “OK” and poking fun at the news network that sparked the concerns in the first place.
“How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN is reporting your death?” Fox wrote in his Wednesday post. “Do you…A) switch to MSNBC, or whatever they are calling themselves these days, (B) Pour scolding hot water on your lap, if it hurts your [sic] fine, (C) Call your wife, hopefully she’s concerned but reassuring, (D) Relax, they do this once every year, (E) Ask yourself wtf ? I thought the world was ending, but apparently it’s just me and I’m OK. Love, Mike.”
View on Threads
The death scare came just one day after Fox made a public appearance at PaleyFest in Los Angeles. He was there with the rest of the cast of “Shrinking” Season 3, in which he guest stars as Gerry, a man suffering from Parkinson’s disease. During the panel, “Shrinking” creator Bill Lawrence expressed his desire to have Fox return in the show’s fourth season, to which the actor said, “I would love to do it. It would be my honor.”
Fox was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991, a diagnosis he kept private for nearly a decade before finally disclosing it publicly in 1998. In the decades since then, he has emerged as a fierce public advocate for those suffering from Parkinson’s and he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000.
