Bill Cosby Death Hoax Forces Comedian To Respond To Twitter Rumor

By Maria Vultaggio | August 30 2012 9:38 AM

For nearly the fifth time Bill Cosby has been killed in a Twitter and Facebook death hoax.

Reuters

Bill Cosby spoke out on the Trayvon Martin case for the first time on Friday, telling the Washington Times in an interview for a Monday story that he thinks Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, was in the thrall of a "power-of-the-gun mentality" when he pulled the trigger, killing the unarmed 17-year-old on Feb. 26.

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The mini-blogosphere is famed for "murdering" celebrities, but for whatever reason "The Cosby Show's" creator seems to be its main target.

However the 73-year-old, who is alive and well, took to Twitter to dispel the rumor once and for all himself.

"Emotional friends have called about this misinformation," Cosby explained on Twitter. "To the people behind the foolishness, I'm not sure you see how upsetting this is."

Cosby doesn't see anything comical about creating a false death, according to EnStarz, and he's "upset" that he has had to clear up rumors about his fictitious demise repeatedly.

At least the well-known actor knows how much he will be missed when he does go, people took to Twitter like crazy to wish the "deceased" Cosby to rest in peace.

Days after the rumor was started Twitter is still talking about the comedian:

@VikkiNoSecrets wrote, "Bill cosby dies all the time on twitter."

@BEATKINGKONG asked, "did bill cosby really die ?"

@kevincjohnson tweeted, "Bill Cosby is alive. Stop with the death hoaxing. It's not even funny."

But before any death hoax had been official laid to rest, many were upset when they thought the actor was no longer living.

"RIP Bill Cosby. Always my favorite actor," tweeted Saint Matthew.

"Rip bill cosby :( #lovedYourShow," tweeted Jamie Booshh.

The rumor was actually started on Facebook, and the "R.I.P. Bill Cosby" creator, whose sole purpose was to cause trouble finally set the record straight.

"With the recent slowdown of likes and high amount of attention from news sources (mostly terrible gossip websites), I have come to the conclusion that I should tell you all the truth," he explained. "Bill Cosby is not deceased. I made around 315,000 people angry. Anyway I trolled the hell out of all of you and you should be ashamed. I love you all for making me laugh at your stupidity for the past day and a half. You're great."

What do you think about celebrity death hoaxes?