Lately, death hoax pranks have unfortunately become a thing, but Tyler Perry is making it known that he does not find them funny. Today (Feb. 20), the Madea creator hopped on Instagram to address a rumor that Cassi Davis, an actress in his series “House of Payne,” had passed away.
In a social media post, the filmmaker shared a screenshot of an article that read, “American actress Cassie Davis died of lung cancer at the age of 58.” In bold red text, Perry added, “This is a lie.” After asking his supporters to turn the “sound on” for the post, he noted that he’d gotten multiple phone calls and text messages from people upset that Davis died, which prompted him to see if the rumors were true. “I just talked to her on the phone, and she wasn’t dead, but let me call her back,” the New Orleans native said in the audio. He noted that after he got a hold of the 58-year-old, he asked her, “Cassi, you sure you not dead?” She jokingly responded that the food she was eating was so good that she might have been in Heaven. The actress informed him that she’d heard the rumor a few times before.
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Along with the audio, Perry further explained the situation in the caption: “After I’ve gotten several calls from people giving me their condolences and I didn’t know what they were talking about, I was sent this article that’s going around. I don’t know how she could have died and nobody told me or her. So I called her and asked her was she dead, and she said, ‘Hell no!’ Can whoever is responsible for this please stop? You better be careful when you speak death over a child of God. This woman is loved by millions, and you’re hurting a lot of people. Cassi is fine living her best life with no worries, no cares, no social media and no drama. She’s waiting to shoot the next season of ‘House of Payne.’”
Earlier this year, Angela Bassett’s 16-year-old son Slater Vance made headlines after filming himself playing a death hoax prank on the Golden Globe Award-winning actress. In the clip, he told his mother that her Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan had passed away. Bassett and her husband were visibly shaken up by the terrible news before being told it was just a joke. The teen was participating in a TikTok trend where users would tell their loved ones a person they cared about had passed away and film their emotional reactions for a laugh. After Vance’s video went viral, he made another post condemning his actions. “I would sincerely like to apologize to Michael B. Jordan’s entire family, his extended family, and him directly, as he is an idol of mine. Taking part in a trend like this is completely disrespectful. I don’t wish any bad ramifications… of my actions upon his family nor my parents, as they deserve none of the backlash,” he said in part.