Sinead Butler
Dec 28, 2022
content.jwplatform.com
This holiday season people have taken to TikTok to pull the ultimate prank on their parents or family members by pretending one of their favourite celebs has died.
And let's just say the internet is divided over the morbid practical joke.
In the videos, the person filming breaks the tragic fake news by pretending to read a news article about their death online prompting shock, denial, and tears from the prankees.
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To really sell the fake deaths, the TikTokers filming often pretend to be just as shocked at reading the fake news to make the prank more believable.
Celebrities are getting fictionally killed off left right and centre, for example in one video someone says: "Oh my God. Cher dead at 81," prompting a "Nooo!" from the parents, as the dad added: "My Cher?"
One mum is a big fan of Zac Efron as she slammed the car seat with her hand, shouting "NO! NO! NO!" after being informed the 35-year-old had "died."
“Oh, my God, Howard Stern dead at 68,” one TikToker informs a man watching TV who appears to be dad, to which he shouts “What?!” in a shocked response.
One Ozzy Osbourne fan was devastated after being told the singer had "died," as the woman let out a prolonged scream as the prankster admitted, "I think I ruined Christmas," with the video going viral at 7m views.
@stevescooche This is all over my fyp and I can’t stop laughing 😂 #fakecelebrityprank #fakecelebritydeath #fyp #oprahwinfrey
A family were astonished to hear that Oprah had "died" as everyone had their hands on their head with one of the family members replying: "You're lying... on Christmas Day?!" with the video racking up over 437,000 views.
Jon Bon Jovi was also a popular choice of celeb to kill off, as in a viral TikTok with 1.7m views a dad is informed (pranked) by his kids and warns them "Don't tell Mom. Have her find out tomorrow, she will cry."
Though this advice is ignored as the daughter tells her mum "not to freak out" and breaks the fake news of the singer's death, causing the mum to immediately cover her hands over her face as she walked up the stairs silently - when asked if she's okay, the mum shouts "NO!"
One family couldn't believe what they were hearing after they were told ex-US president Barack Obama had "died," which 4.3m people have watched.
@mikalacrump Im dying 😭😭😭#barackobama
Many people found the pranks entertaining and amusing as they shared their reactions in the comments.
One person wrote: "I think these celebs should watch these videos and see how many ppl LOVE them so much haha."
"This is hilarious to see who each household sees as invaluable to their lives," another person said.
Someone else added: "This shouldn’t be funny but these reactions are hilarious lmao I am cracking up."
"Wait this is a perfect visualization of parasocial relationships," a fourth person commented.
Though others didn't see the funny side to
One person wrote: "Pranks that put people in a state of distress like this will never be funny to me."
"This trend is weird af bro," another person said. hearing about your idol dying is so shocking and for kids to record their parents like this is mad uncomfortable to watch.
Someone else replied: "The celebrity death prank is not funny to me at all, why is somebody's death a joke?"
"That celebrity dead prank is funny but it’s not funny I would lowkey be scared to speak about death in that way," a fourth person added.
So if you have been informed that one of your favourite celebs has passed away, don't take the person's word for it as this TikTok trend has proved.
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