UPDATE — 4/10/2026, 10:30 a.m. ET: Michael J. Fox had a hilarious response to a report implying that he had died.
“How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN is reporting your death?” Fox, 64, wrote via Threads on Wednesday, April 8. “Do you … A) switch to MNSBC, or whatever they are calling themselves these days, (B) Pour [scalding] hot water on your lap, if it hurts [you’re] fine, (C) Call your wife, hopefully she’s concerned but reassuring, (D) Relax, they do this once every year, (E) Ask yourself wtf?”
Fox concluded, “I thought the world was ending, but apparently it’s just me and I’m OK. Love, Mike.”
Original story:
Michael J. Fox is alive and well despite a recent report that seemingly implied otherwise.
“Michael is doing great,” the actor’s rep told TMZ in a statement on Wednesday, April 8. “He was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and was giving interviews.”
Rumors of Fox’s death began to swirl after CNN shared an article and video titled, “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox,” according to TMZ. The post has since been taken down from CNN’s website.
“The package was published in error; we have removed it from our platforms and send our apologies to Michael J. Fox and his family,” a CNN spokesperson shared.
Michael J. Fox Makes Surprise Cameo at Actor Awards With Look-Alike Son
The hoax comes after Fox, 64, made a rare appearance at PaleyFest L.A. on Tuesday, April 6, to celebrate the wrap party for Shrinking season 3. (Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 29 in 1991, made guest appearances during the season as a friend of Harrison Ford’s character, Dr. Paul Rhodes, who is also battling the illness.)
Fox’s role in Shrinking marked his first appearance in a TV series since he retired from full-time acting in 2020.
“I continued to act for almost 30 years after I was diagnosed. I reached the point where I couldn’t rely on my ability to speak on any given day, which meant I couldn’t act comfortably at all anymore. So, last year I gave it up,” he told AARP Magazine in 2021.
Fox publicly revealed his Parkinson’s battle in 1998, seven years after he was diagnosed with the progressive nervous system disorder, which causes tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement in the body. He explained at the time that he sought treatment after he noticed symptoms while filming the movie Doc Hollywood in 1991. The actor went on to establish The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000 to help advance research into curing the disease.
Michael J. Fox Reflects on Decades-Long Battle With Parkinson’s Disease
Fox reflected on living with Parkinson’s for more than 30 years at his A Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s musical charity gala in April 2024.
“After 35 years or something since I’ve been diagnosed, this is just my life and I don’t think about it much,” he told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “I don’t even think about [it]. Except that I’m thinking about what we’re going to do as a community to figure this out and find a cure – and short of a cure, [create] treatment centers that are really groundbreaking.”
Fox continued, “Me personally, it’s just who I am, and the way I was built. And I’m necessarily trying to figure it out for me, I’m figuring it out for everybody. But it just is what it is. My life has been a great ride and it continues to be a great ride. And through all the challenges, it comes with all the good stuff.”
