William Shatner is speaking out after claims emerged that he was battling Stage IV brain cancer and is fighting with Erika Kirk.
The actor, 95, shut down the rumors via his official social media accounts on Thursday, April 2, explaining he waited until April Fools’ Day was over to set the record straight.
“I wanted to put this out yesterday but given the day and the possibility that it would look like a joke I waited for today. There is a page on @facebook that is using AI to create horrible fake news stories about me,” he wrote.
Shatner continued, “They have created stories that say I have stage 4 brain cancer, was in some kind of fight with Erika Kirk and that I’m dying. All their stories are monetized. Most of the stories use an AI image of me. Facebook Support will not remove the page.”
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The Star Trek star explained that Facebook Support “will not remove the page” despite people falsely believing the post’s claims to be genuine. Shatner explained that he had reported the page and attempted to contact the page’s CEO to ask them to remove the page.
“None of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money,” he wrote of the page he identified as The Beanstalk Functions Group.
Shatner then warned of the dangers of AI creating false news that is hard to control.
“While [it] can be a wonderful tool in the right hands; it can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands,” he wrote. “If you see a bizarre story about me; unless you see it posted on one of my verified accounts, take it with a grain of salt.”
In a second post shared via Instagram on Thursday, Shatner shared a photo of himself smiling and looking in good spirits to prove he was not sick.
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“My Daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer. 🙄 She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I’m not ill. 🤷” Shatner captioned the post. “The people who are ill are those that are spreading these ridiculous stories. I’m fit as a fiddle. You don’t have to worry. This is getting insane.”
In the AI-generated posts on The Beanstalk Functions Group, fake images showed Shatner in hospital beds while the page declared the actor had “shared a hauntingly raw photo from a hospital bed, ending weeks of frantic speculation.”
The Facebook page has since been removed. Us Weekly has reached out to Meta for comment.
