Ready for the truth about Jessica Radcliffe?
Days after a clip went viral on TikTok allegedly showing Radcliffe, a whale trainer, being killed by an orca during a performance in front of a live audience, it turns out the entire episode was a hoax. In fact, no official records, news reports or credible sources show that Radcliffe even existed.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that the attack even took place, with the video being an AI-generated fabrication, according to multiple reports. Experts examined the footage and, according to the International Business Times, found that it featured AI-generated voices combined with archival footage.
The original video, which spread across the internet like wild fire, claimed to show Radcliffe performing alongside an orca in a whale show at Pacific Blue Marine Park. The video said that she was killed during the set, with another video alleging the attack was triggered by menstrual blood—with experts noting, via the IBT, that such details are common in fake stories to heighten the emotional impact.
The AI video did appear to take inspiration from two real life orca killings: Alexis Martínez’s 2009 death and Dawn Brancheau’s death in 2010.
Martínez, 29, was an orca trainer at Loro Parque on the Canary Islands who was involved in an incident with a whale named Keto. He was rushed to the hospital and died of internal bleeding and injuries.
Meanwhile, Brancheau was killed by Tilikum, an orca at SeaWorld Orlando. The 36-year-old had been dragged by her hair underwater, where the whale repeatedly struck her in front of an audience. Brancheau's death was explored in the 2013 documentary Blackfish.
Experts pointed out to IBT that the similarities to the real deaths as one the reasons the fake video was able to gain traction, according to the IBT, as oftentimes using real or recognizable incidents make the false story feel more legitimate.
For more death hoaxes that were quickly debunked, keep reading.
Steve Burns
The Blues Clues star doesn't have a clue how these rumors started. But even while he was still on the Nickelodeon series, there were false stories that he had died. And Steve, who is very much alive, has spoken about the toll this hoax took on his mental health.
"When a gazillion people you've never met tell you that you're dead, it's bad when you're severely clinically depressed," he shared on a May 2025 episode of Rainn Wilson's Soul Bloom podcast. "And there was nothing I could do about this rumor."
After Steve left the show in the early aughts, the rumors continued: "It was one of the most common things people would say to me was, 'I thought you were dead.'"
Lil Tay
Days after a statement on her Instagram reported the rapper and her brother had died, Lil Tay confirmed her account was hacked.
"I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say," she told TMZ. "It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess."
Queen Elizabeth II
Yes, Queen Elizabeth II is actually dead.
But six months before her September 2022 passing, she got entangled in hoax when Hollywood Unlocked prematurely reported she died.
"I'm not a conspiracy theorist, and everything aligns with me feeling very confident, which is why I doubled down on it," the outlet's CEO Jason Lee told BuzzFeed News in February 2022. "Now if I'm wrong, I'll be the first one to go out there and say, hey, it's the first time I got it wrong and this is a big wrong, on to the next story."
Eminem
Will the source behind these hoaxes please stand up?
Over the years, Eminem has been the subject of several false death stories, including one that started in August 2023 after an "R.I.P. Eminem" Facebook page caught attention.
"He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax," his rep said in a statement obtained by The Sun. "He's still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet."
Wayne Knight
The Seinfeld alum took to Twitter in 2014 to assure fans that he is "alive and well" after several fake sites reported he died in a car crash.
Chloë Grace Moretz
The Carrie star was none too pleased to learn some mischiefmakers spread false reports about her dying in a snowboarding mishap in 2013.
"I've had my loved ones calling crying to check and see if I'm alive," Chloë tweeted at the time. "Don't make this up. It's not real. I am fully alive and here. You're sick."
Jim Carrey
A fake RIP Jim Carrey Facebook page claimed the actor was killed in a plane crash in 2012. However, his rep assured E! News The Mask star is just fine.
Reba McEntire
The country singer shot down rumors about her alleged death in Austria, tweeting in 2012, "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!!!"
Jon Bon Jovi
To prove he didn't die from cardiac arrest as the 2011 rumors claimed, the "Livin' on a Prayer" singer posted a photo with the date that read, "Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey. Rest assured that Jon is alive and well! This photo was just taken."
Missy Elliott
The rapper put death rumors to rest when she tweeted in 2011, "I'm Great ppl 4 all who keep asking! Alive and well! Enjoy ya night tweeps!" The next day she added, "Yea Sadly sum1 was that miserable to make up such a cruel rumor! It Makes me work harder make em mad!"
Denzel Washington
After false rumors spread that the Oscar winner fell victim to a snowboarding accident in 2011, his publicist cleared the air by telling E!, "He is working on location in Atlanta currently."
Jackie Chan
When somebody created an "R.I.P. Jackie Chan" Facebook page in 2011, false rumors claiming the Rush Hour actor died became the talk of the social world. Unfortunately, he isn't a stranger to a death hoax as similar gossip had spread earlier that year.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
After hearing reports he had fallen off a cliff in New Zealand and died in 2011, the actor took to Twitter to prove the hoaxers wrong. "I would love to meet the person who is starting rumors of my death," he wrote, "to show them how a dead foot feels up their ass."
Kanye "Ye" West
In 2009, fake rumors spread that the rapper had been involved in a fatal car crash, leading "RIP Kanye West" to trend on Twitter. However, Amber Rose, who dated him at the time, set the record straight, tweeting, "This RIPKanyeWest topic is not funny and its NOT TRUE!"
Zach Braff
After it was inaccurately reported that the Scrubs star died in 2009, he made a video to confirm he's OK.
"I'm alive," Zach said in the clip. "I'm here at Scrubs shooting the new Scrubs title sequence which is a little bit like dying, so I guess that was semi-accurate."
He even brought his costar Donald Faison in on the hoax.
"I was able to work out with him that if I do ever die," Zach continued, "I would like him to sing an R&B version of 'Wind Beneath My Wings' at my funeral."
Matt Damon
That same year, there were untrue rumors that the Oscar winner went missing during a camping trip in California's Palo Verde Mountains. However, Matt just laughed off the comments.
"I haven't heard," he said on the Late Show With David Letterman at the time, per TMZ, "but I feel pretty good."
Britney Spears
In 2009, a hacker posted a "sad day" message on the singer's TwitPic account.
"Britney's Twitter was just hacked," a follow-up post read. "The last message is obviously not true. She is fine and dandy spending a quiet day at home relaxing."
Jeff Goldblum
Things tend to happen in threes, so when rumors hit the internet that the Law & Order: Criminal Intent star died on the same day as Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, fans were panic-stricken. But soon after, Jeff appeared on The Colbert Report to laugh off the fake story.
"No one will miss Jeff Goldblum more than me," he quipped. "He was not only a friend and a mentor, but he was also, um, me."
Tom Cruise
The Top Gun star was actually in New York City when 2010 rumors spread that he fell from the Kauri Cliffs.
"This is completely not true," Cruise's publicist told E! News at the time. "Tom is not in New Zealand nor has he been there recently. This is erroneous and unreliable Internet garbage."
Miley Cyrus
These rumors came in like a wrecking ball.
Miley spent the latter half of 2008 debunking false rumors, including one that a truck drove straight into her car and another that she was killed by a drunk driver. However, none of them were true and she's still just being Miley.
Sinbad
In 2007, a prankster wrongfully declared on Wikipedia that Sinbad, whose real name is David Adkins, died of a heart attack. However, a spokesperson for the website noted, "Somebody vandalized the page."
Meanwhile, a rep for the comic told Reuters, "Sinbad is healthy, well and enjoying life!"
Will Ferrell
After a 2006 rumor inaccurately claimed the Anchorman star died in a paragliding accident, he didn't pay it too much attention.
"Not much to say other than we heard and read about it this morning and reacted accordingly," Ferrell's publicist told E! in an email at the time. "There was no point in trying to track [the source] down as it was obviously a hoax."
Justin Timberlake & Britney Spears
Back in 2001, a set of Texas DJs caused a nationwide panic when they reported the then-couple were in a car accident that left the *NSYNC alum in a coma and the pop princess dead. However, their reps slammed the false gossip.
"There is no truth to the rumor circulating around the world that Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were involved in a car accident on Tuesday in Los Angeles," a rep from their label at the time told E!. "Spears and Timberlake are in great health."
Paul McCartney
A conspiracy theory claimed the Beatles member died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-alike. However, Paul has denounced the rumor many times, including in a Saturday Night Live skit where the now-late comedian Chris Farley asked him about the hoax and the musician confirmed, "Yeah, I wasn't really dead."