Inside the TikTok trend 'killing off' your favorite celebs
TikTok is killing off your favorite celebrities this Christmas with a sick new trend that has people reacting to fake death announcements in "candid camera" style. The questionable trend on the social media platform has the person carrying out the prank reading fake news to friends and family members and recording their reactions which range from outrage to shock, sadness, and more. As the trend went viral, television characters fell victim too, with a vital 'Family Guy' member also meeting their fake death.
Many celebrities have been victims of this sick trend. In one such video, a prankster tells her mom, "Jon Bon Jovi dead at 60, heart attack." Her mother, who seems to be a huge fan of Jovi, reacts by shouting, "What?! Get out of here!" The trend soon found its way to Twitter as well. Another video targeted renowned singer Cher as a person announced on camera, "Oh my God. Cher dead at 81." A group of people replied, "Nooo!" Howard Stern could not escape the trend either. "Oh, my God, Howard Stern dead at 68," someone says in a video. The man watching the television shouts, "What?!" Another video claimed Zach Efron was dead at the young age of 35. The prankster's friend loses her calm and starts hitting the seat as she yells, "Nooo!"
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The cause of death varies from video to video. Some celebrities succumb to a heart attack while some videos simply do not mention the cause. To add credibility to their announcement, these pranksters look up the age of the celebrities. Others who were targeted include singers Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen. A girl announces at a dinner party that Springsteen passed away at the age of 73 as the others present sit in shock. Besides, there's also a video that brings up Michael Jackson’s death. However, perhaps the most viral fake death of the TikTok trend is of Lois Griffin from 'Family Guy'.
the fake celebrity death trend on tiktok shouldn’t be funny but dawg the last one pic.twitter.com/qHjc6IsySz
— αηgεℓα вαssεтт sтαη αccσυηт (@heyyitsjanea) December 25, 2022
Lois Griffin started trending across social media on December 26 as TikTok pranksters began spreading rumors of Lois' non-canon demise. While this is not true, she did have a near-death encounter in season six, episode four, as her youngest son Stewie plots to finish her. The rumor made people worry about Alex Borstein, the voice behind Lois Griffin. But just like the rest of the celebrity victims of the trend, Alex is alive and well.
