Reba McEntire Calls Out Dolly Parton Death Hoax “Mess”

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Reba McEntire is a survivor of a death hoax.

The country singer, who previously debunked false reports of her own death back in 2012, recently praised Dolly Parton for addressing similar rumors. This came after a fake, AI-created image circulated online, falsely showing Reba McEntire on what appeared to be Dolly’s deathbed.

Reba said in an Instagram video on October 9th, “You go, Dolly!” She added that all this artificial intelligence stuff is making people do some wild things.

Sharing an AI-generated image of herself with a sonogram alongside her fiancé, Rex Linn, the 70-year-old joked, “You’re facing serious health issues, and I’m over here having a baby! We both know that’s a bit ridiculous given our ages.”

Reba shared that she’s thinking of Dolly after Dolly, 79, announced she’s taking a break to focus on her health. Dolly had postponed dealing with some health issues following the passing of her husband, Carl Dean, earlier this year.

The *Happy’s Place* star also sent Dolly a message saying she was thinking of her and sending her love, and that she looked forward to seeing her again soon.

Dolly Parton is doing just fine! The award-winning singer addressed recent health rumors on October 8th, posting a video on social media to reassure fans that she’s feeling good. She playfully asked, “Do I look sick to you?”

After my husband Carl was ill for a long time and then passed away, I neglected my own health. I let things slide that I should have addressed. When I finally went to the doctor, they found a few things that needed attention. It wasn’t anything serious, but I did have to reschedule some commitments to stay closer to home.

Dolly cheerfully clarified that despite still working a lot, rumors about her health are false – she’s not seriously ill.

For more celebrities who were caught up in death hoaxes, read on.

Steve Burns, the original host of *Blues Clues*, is baffled by the persistent rumors about his death. Even during his time on the show, false stories circulated claiming he had passed away. Burns, who is very much alive, recently opened up about how damaging this hoax was to his mental health.

Speaking on Rainn Wilson’s *Soul Bloom* podcast in May 2025, he explained, “When millions of people you’ve never met tell you that you’re dead, it’s incredibly difficult, especially when you’re struggling with clinical depression.” He added that there was nothing he could do to stop the spread of the rumor.

Even after leaving the show in the early 2000s, people continued to tell him they thought he was dead – it was a surprisingly common comment.

Lil Tay recently confirmed her Instagram account was hacked after a false post claimed she and her brother had died. She told TMZ she and her brother are safe, but she’s deeply upset. “The last 24 hours have been incredibly traumatic,” she said. “I’ve been getting constant, heartbreaking calls from family and friends while trying to figure out what happened.”

Queen Elizabeth II has passed away, but back in September 2022, a false report about her death circulated online. Hollywood Unlocked mistakenly announced she had died six months before her actual passing. Jason Lee, the CEO of the outlet, explained to BuzzFeed News that he felt very sure about the information at the time. He stated he would publicly admit his mistake if it turned out to be false, acknowledging it as a significant error and moving on.

Who is behind these fake stories? Over the years, rapper Eminem has been the target of numerous false reports claiming he has died. The latest one began in August 2023 with a viral “R.I.P. Eminem” page on Facebook. A representative for Eminem confirmed to The Sun that he is, in fact, alive and well, and urged people to stop spreading false information they find online. This hoax joins a long history of similar incidents targeting celebrities.

In 2014, after false reports circulated online claiming he had died in a car accident, *Seinfeld* actor Jerry Stiller used Twitter to let his fans know he was “alive and well.”

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve seen my fair share of crazy rumors, but this one involving Chloë Grace Moretz was particularly upsetting. Back in 2013, some people started spreading a completely false story about her dying in a snowboarding accident. Can you imagine?! She actually had family members calling her, absolutely heartbroken, thinking it was true. She immediately took to Twitter to set the record straight, understandably furious. She basically said, and rightfully so, ‘Stop making things up! I’m alive and well, and this is just cruel.’ It’s a stark reminder of how damaging false information can be, even for those in the public eye.

 
 
 

A false report on Facebook claimed Jim Carrey died in a plane crash in 2012. However, his representative confirmed to TopMob News that the actor is alive and well.

The country singer quickly debunked rumors of her death, which claimed she had fallen off a mountain in Austria. In a 2012 tweet, she jokingly confirmed she was very much alive, stating, “While I would love to be shooting a movie in Austria, I definitely did not fall off a mountain! Nor am I dead! I am alive and kicking!!!”

 

To dispel rumors that he’d died of a heart attack in 2011, Jon Bon Jovi shared a photo with the current date, playfully writing, “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey! Just to confirm, Jon is alive and doing well.”

 

The rapper quickly shut down rumors about her death in 2011 with a tweet: “I’m Great ppl 4 all who keep asking! Alive and well! Enjoy ya night tweeps!” She followed up the next day, saying, “Yeah, it’s sad someone was so unhappy they’d create such a cruel rumor! It just motivates me to work even harder and prove them wrong!”

Following untrue reports that the Academy Award-winning actor was injured in a snowboarding accident in 2011, his representative confirmed to TopMob that he is currently filming on location in Atlanta.

In 2011, a false rumor spread online that Jackie Chan, the star of *Rush Hour*, had died. This started when someone created a Facebook page titled “R.I.P. Jackie Chan.” It wasn’t the first time Chan had been the subject of a death hoax, as similar rumors had circulated earlier that year.

When rumors spread in 2011 that he had fallen off a cliff in New Zealand and died, the actor used Twitter to debunk them. He tweeted, “I’d like to meet whoever is spreading these rumors about my death and let them feel what a dead man’s foot feels like.”

Back in 2009, false rumors circulated online claiming the rapper had died in a car accident, causing the hashtag “RIP Kanye West” to become popular on Twitter. His then-girlfriend, Amber Rose, quickly debunked the rumors, tweeting that the topic wasn’t funny and was untrue.

After false reports of his death circulated in 2009, actor Zach Braff released a video to assure everyone he was still alive. He joked that filming the new opening sequence for *Scrubs* felt a bit like dying, so the reports weren’t *completely* wrong. He even included his *Scrubs* co-star, Donald Faison, in the playful hoax.

Zach shared that he’d asked a friend to do something special if he were to pass away: he wants the friend to sing an R&B rendition of ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ at his funeral.

That year, false rumors spread that the Academy Award-winning actor had gone missing while camping in the Palo Verde Mountains of California. Matt Damon simply dismissed the reports, joking on *The Late Show With David Letterman* – as reported by TMZ – that he was feeling well despite not having heard about them.

In 2009, someone hacked Britney Spears’ TwitPic account and posted a message saying “sad day.” A follow-up post quickly clarified that Britney’s Twitter had been hacked and the previous message wasn’t true. It stated she was doing well and relaxing at home.

There’s a saying that bad news comes in threes, and fans were understandably upset when rumors spread online that Jeff Goldblum had died on the same day as Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. However, Goldblum quickly put those fears to rest by appearing on *The Colbert Report* and joking about the false reports. He famously quipped, “No one will miss Jeff Goldblum more than me. He was not only a friend and a mentor, but he was also, um, me.”

Despite rumors in 2010 claiming he’d fallen from the Kauri Cliffs, the *Top Gun* actor was actually in New York City at the time.

As a huge Tom Cruise fan, I was so frustrated to hear this false story going around! His publicist immediately told TopMob News it was completely untrue – Tom wasn’t even in New Zealand, and hadn’t been for a while. They called it exactly what it was: just made-up internet nonsense.

Rumors started spreading quickly and intensely. Throughout the latter part of 2008, Miley Cyrus had to repeatedly deny false stories, including one about a car accident and another claiming she had died in a drunk driving incident. Thankfully, none of these rumors were true, and Miley is doing just fine.

Back in 2007, someone falsely reported on Wikipedia that comedian Sinbad, whose full name is David Adkins, had passed away from a heart attack. Wikipedia quickly acknowledged it was vandalism. A representative for Sinbad confirmed to Reuters that he was, in fact, alive and well, and enjoying life.

When a false rumor spread in 2006 that the star of *Anchorman* had died in a paragliding accident, he didn’t worry about it much.

Ferrell’s publicist told TopMob in an email that they became aware of the rumor this morning and addressed it immediately. They considered it a clear fabrication and didn’t bother trying to find where it started.

In 2001, a hoax started by some Texas DJs briefly caused widespread alarm, falsely reporting that Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had been in a car accident. The rumor claimed Timberlake was in a coma and Spears had died. However, their representatives quickly denied the story, confirming to TopMob that both singers were perfectly healthy and the reports were untrue.

A popular conspiracy theory alleges that Paul McCartney of the Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a double. Paul McCartney himself has repeatedly dismissed this rumor, even jokingly addressing it on *Saturday Night Live* in a skit with the late Chris Farley. In the skit, Farley questioned him about the hoax, and McCartney playfully confirmed, “Yeah, I wasn’t really dead.”

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2025-10-10 00:18