Fact Check

Nicolas Cage Death Hoax

A false rumor holding that actor Nicolas Cage passed away in a motorcycle accident circulated in July 2016.

Published July 10, 2016

 (Wikipedia)
Image Via Wikipedia
Claim:
Actor Nicolas Cage died in a motorcycle accident in July 2016.

A message reporting that actor Nicolas Cage had died in a motorcycle accident was widely circulated on Facebook in July 2016:

nic cage motorcycle accident

This graphic includes conflicting claims: The title of the message asserts that Nicolas Cage passed away in a motorcycle accident, but the text of the quoted article states that the actor died from a skiing accident after being air-lifted by a ski patrol to a local hospital.

In fact, the portion of this hoax relating to a ski accident has been circulating for several years. In 2013 the web site Global Associated News, a site known for publishing death hoaxes, falsely claimed that Cage has perished in a snowboarding accident:

Witnesses indicate that Nicholas Cage lost control of his snowboard and struck a tree at a high rate of speed. Nicholas Cage was air lifted by ski patrol teams to a local hospital, however, it is believed that the actor died instantly from the impact of the crash. The actor was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and drugs and alcohol do not appear to have played any part in his death," the report reads.

This hoax was also circulated with another image purportedly showing the scene of the crash:

nic cage motorcycle

While this image does depict the scene of a real motorcycle crash, Cage was not involved in it. This photograph depicts a 2011 incident that resulted in a 22-year-old Navy sailor's death.

The false rumor claiming that Nicolas Cage had passed away in a motorcycle accident was started by the web site Viralvines.site. This site has been responsible for a string of death hoaxes which have recently "killed" a variety of celebrities, including wrestler John Cena and Vin Diesel:

death hoax

Nicolas Cage did not die in a motorcycle accident (or a snowboarding accident) in July 2016. As of this writing, the actor is still alive and well.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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