TikTok's Celebrity Death Prank Gains Steam — and the Reactions Are Mixed

Kelly Corbett - Author
By

Published Dec. 27 2022, 2:59 p.m. ET

TikTok celebrity death prank reactions
Source: TikTok/@musictheoryisfake; TikTok / @miathetortilla69

These days it seems like celebrities are allegedly dying left and right on TikTok. Lady Gaga, Oprah, Howard Stern, you name it. The platform is currently rife with videos of TikTok users delivering the upsetting (and extremely untrue) news to a family member that a certain celebrity has passed away.

Article continues below advertisement

Why is the celebrity death prank popular? For content, of course!

Keep reading to find out everything we know about the celebrity death prank on TikTok.

TikTok
Source: getty images
Article continues below advertisement

The celebrity death prank is a super-easy TikTok trend to take part in.

While you should never wish death on anyone, this TikTok trend is just a little bit funny. TikTok users are telling older family members that their favorite celebrities have passed away and they record their reactions.

Yup, that's the whole prank. While it seems a little boring, it has led to some hilarious videos of folks freaking out about the faux deaths of their favorite star(s).

Article continues below advertisement

In many of the videos, the person filming will announce that a certain celebrity is dead and include their age as if they're reading a news headline. For example, "Rod Stewart is dead at 77."

Sometimes users will go the extra mile and make up a cause of death too or announce that an entire band like Duran Duran has passed away from a tragic accident.

Article continues below advertisement

Judging from all the reaction videos, it just goes to show how important celebrities are to their fans.

In the comment sections of these videos, viewers have a lot of thoughts to share. Some are in favor of the trend.

tiktok comment on celeb death prank trend
Source: tiktok
Article continues below advertisement

Others suggest that parents should retaliate and prank their kids back.

tiktok comment on celeb death prank trend
Source: tiktok
Article continues below advertisement

And others don't see the appeal of the trend.

tiktok comment on celeb death prank trend
Source: tiktok
Article continues below advertisement

The conversation about this prank continued on Twitter. "Y’all gotta stop doing these celebrity death pranks on TikTok cause god forbid one really die ... the tongue is a powerful thing," read one tweet.

Article continues below advertisement

Another person tweeted that it gave them "bad vibes."

Bottom line: The celebrity death prank is definitely one to think about. While we might find it harmless to tell a white lie for the sake of some good content, some celebrities might be uncomfortable with our making up hurtful lies about them.

Advertisement
More from Distractify

Latest Trending News and Updates

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2024 Engrost, Inc. Distractify is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.