Angela Bassett's son has apologised after pranking his mom by pretending Michael B. Jordan had died.
You may have seen the dead celebrity prank doing the rounds on social media in the last week. If not, the name is pretty self explanatory - people are telling their loved ones that a famous celebrity has died and then recording the reaction.
You can see Bassett’s reaction here:
In the clip, which he shared on TikTok, Slater Vance told his mom and dad: “Did you hear this: Michael B. Jordan dead at 35?”
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This, understandably, prompted a horrified reaction from Bassett, 64, who put her hand to her chest as her jaw dropped. Seemingly unable to speak in response to the ‘news’, the American Horror Story star repeatedly said: “Unh-uh.”
Her husband - Vance’s dad - Courtney Vance could be heard saying: “Stop it. You're playing.”
The clip went viral, but many people called it out for being in poor taste, with some pointing out it was particularly cruel as Bassett had already suffered the loss of fellow Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman.
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Responding to the clip, one person wrote on Twitter: “Pranking Angela Bassett with the “unaliving” of Michael B. Jordan when she JUST had to shoot a movie without the main character cus he passed…? That joke was extremely insensitive. Goodness gracious.”
Another said: “Just saw a TikTok of Angela Bassett's son doing the celebrity death trend, saying Michael B. Jordan died..she already dealt with the loss of Chadwick. That’s messed up even as a joke.”
Following the backlash, 16-year-old Vance has since issued an apology online.
In a lengthy apology Vance, said he ‘owned’ his mistake and apologised to Jordan, his parents ‘and anyone else’ who was upset by the video.
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He said: “I would sincerely like to apologise for taking part in such a harmful trend. I apologise 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 this - of my actions - upon his family nor my parents as they deserve none of the backlash.
“I own this was a mistake and 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.
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“I apologise for any hurt that my actions may have caused [to] Mr Jordan or my parents or anyone else who could have been involved in this and I am truly, truly and sincerely apologise. I am sorry.”
Claire Reid