CNN set off a wave of panic Wednesday after publishing a premature obituary video for Michael J. Fox — and the Back to the Future star wasted no time firing back.
The network posted a video package titled “Remembering the Life of Actor Michael J. Fox” on its platforms, sending fans scrambling for answers about the 64-year-old actor. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1990 at age 29 but didn’t publicly disclose it until 1998. The CNN video featured interview clips and footage from Fox’s career, with a narrator speaking about him entirely in the past tense.
Fox’s representatives quickly responded that the actor very much alive.
“Michael is doing great,” a spokesman said. “He was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and was giving interviews.”
Fox himself took the situation in stride, posting a mock multiple-choice response on his Threads account.
“How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN is reporting your death?” he wrote. “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 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,” Fox wrote. “Love, Mike.”
CNN pulled the package and issued an apology.
“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 network spokesperson said.
The video was part of the network’s pre-written obituaries for prominent public figures, ready to publish the moment they pass.
Fox’s PaleyFest appearance was for the season 3 wrap party of Apple TV+’s Shrinking, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where he guest stars in a three-episode arc. The role marked his return to acting after retiring in 2020 due to his battle with Parkinson’s.
Since going public with his diagnosis, Fox has become one of the most prominent advocates for Parkinson’s research in the world. He founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000, which has since funded more than $2 billion in research into the disease.