Early this week, word of actor Richard Gere’s passing traveled swiftly, alarming admirers everywhere. Nevertheless, it has now been established that the December 2023 news was a total fabrication, the most recent in a long line of unverified claims of celebrity deaths. Thankfully, the actor who starred in American Gigolo and Pretty Woman is still alive and well.
On Saturday, there was a surge in rumors regarding the actor’s purported death after a Facebook page titled “R.I.P. Richard Gere” received almost one million “likes.” The following credible story of the American actor’s dying was provided to readers of the “About” page:
Hundreds of followers posted condolence notes on the Facebook page as soon as they learned of the talented 74-year-old actor’s passing. The death fake had the Twittersphere in a frenzy, as usual.
While some gullible followers took the tweet at face value, others dismissed it right away, possibly having learned their lesson from the numerous celebrity fake death stories that have surfaced in recent months. Given that the passing of an actor of Richard Gere’s caliber would have generated significant coverage across networks, some pointed out that the news had not been covered by any major American network, suggesting that it was a bogus report.
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Representatives for the actor formally declared Richard Gere alive on Sunday, December 31. “He becomes the next famous person to fall prey to this scam. They responded, “Stop believing what you see on the Internet; he’s still alive and well.”
Fans of the adored actor have taken to social media to vent their fury over the false news, calling it careless, upsetting, and harmful to their feelings. Others claim that this demonstrates his enormous global appeal.
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