MWednesday 8 April, an article appears on the CNN website complete with video: «Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox». The formula leaves no room for interpretation: it is the one used for remember a famous person who has just passed away. The web and the fans of Back to the future they panic. Too bad that Michael J. Fox, at that moment, was on stage in Los Angeles giving interviews.
Is Michael J. Fox dead? CNN’s gaffe
The plaintiff’s representatives have had to intervene TMZ to reassure fans: «Michael is fine. Was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and giving interviews.”. In the meantime, CNN had already removed everything, apologizing with an official note: «The content was published in error. We have removed it from our platforms and offer our apologies to Michael J. Fox and his family.”
The crocodile is the pre-packaged obituary that editorial offices prepare in advance for famous peopleready to publish at the right time. This time someone hit “publish” too soon. It is not the first time this has happened in the history of international journalism, and every time the result is the same: hasty denials, public apologies and a dose of embarrassment that is difficult to digest. Mark Twain, who had experienced the same situation firsthand, dismissed it thus: “The news of my death has been exaggerated.”
“How do you react when CNN announces your death?”
Fox himself took care of putting the final point on the matter, with a post on Threads that is worth more than any official denial. “How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN is announcing your death?”the actor wrote to his followers, listing the options: «A) Change the channel on MSNBC, or whatever the hell they’re called now. B) You pour boiling water on your lap: if it hurts, you’re alive. C) You call your wife, hoping she is worried but reassuring. D) You relax: They do it about once a year. E) You ask yourself: what the f…?. I thought it was the end of the world, but apparently it’s just me. And I’m fine. Love, Mike.” It’s hard to blame him.
On stage with Harrison Ford, after five years of absence
The joke is that the gaffe comes the day after one of his most anticipated public appearances in recent years. Fox, 64 years old, he had returned to show himself after a long break to celebrate the third season of Shrinkingthe Apple TV series in which he plays a Parkinson’s patient who confronts his therapist, played by Harrison Ford, suffering from the same disease. The two embraced on stage to applause. Fox had stopped acting in 2020 due to difficulties related to Parkinson’s, diagnosed at the age of 29 and made public only in 1998after seven years of silence.
Michael J. Fox: 2.5 billion dollars against Parkinson’s
In Michael J. Fox’s life, illness also became a mission. His foundation funded over $2.5 billion in Parkinson’s research from 2000 to today. In 2022 he received an honorary Oscar, in 2025 the Medal of Freedom from President Biden. Harrison Ford summed it up like this in an interview: “Michael raises more money and has done more research on Parkinson’s than almost anyone else in the world.” Fox added: “I had no idea Parkinson’s would take so much from me. But I also had no idea how much he would give me».
iO Donna © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
