There’s a disturbing TikTok trend on the rise that calls for kids to prank their parents by telling them someone close to them – or a famous celebrity — has died.
While death is no laughing matter, the prank has gained traction on social media where clout chasing for likes and views takes precedence over a parent’s feelings which became collateral damage in Angela Bassett’s case.
The 64-year-old iconic Black Panther actress was on the receiving end of her 16-year-old son Slater Vance’s
careless joke that upset the actress when she learned by way of her son that Michael B. Jordan had died – except it was a lie. He’s alive and well.“Did you hear this: Michael B. Jordan dead at 35?” Slater says in the 20-second clip.
Bassett, with a look of shock and surprise, started walking toward her son, clutching her chest saying “Unh-uh” while dad Courtney B. Vance could be heard saying, “Stop it. You’re playing.”
Bassett who calls Jordan a friend and
fellow colleague, seemingly tore her son a new one as evidenced by his emotional apology video, walking back the distasteful joke and issuing a heartfelt sorry to his mom, dad and the Jordan family.
@slater.vance♬ original sound – Slater
“I would sincerely like to apologize for taking part in such a harmful trend,” Slater said in the video that was shared on December 31. “I apologize to Michael B. Jordan‘s entire family, his extended family and Michael directly as he is an idol of mine and taking part in a trend like this is completely disrespectful.”
He continued, “I don’t wish any bad ramifications of my actions upon his family nor my parents as they deserve none of the backlash. I own this was a mistake and I hope this can be a teaching lesson to anyone else who uses social media as a tool and a source of entertainment to truly understand that your actions can have consequences that extend beyond you.”
“I apologize for any hurt that my actions might have caused Mr. Jordan or my parents or anyone else who could have been involved in this, and I am truly, truly and sincerely sorry,” Slater said.
This prank is especially not funny given that Angela Bassett had to deal with the momentous loss of Chadwick Boseman.
But it’s clear Angela and Courtney gathered him all the way together.