Just weeks after Back to the Future cast members paid tribute to a star in the wake of his death, a new report from CNN began to circulate that seemed to indicate that Michael J. Fox had passed away. Fortunately, the report has already been debunked: not only is the Shrinking actor alive, but he was making appearances as recently as the day before rumors started to spread.
The whole story started when CNN made a post that set off alarm bells for many people. Although it has since been taken down, the post was titled "Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox" and included both an article and video, per TMZ. While that wasn't techically the news outlet claiming that he had died, what else were people supposed to think after seeing such a title?
Fortunately, TMZ was quickly able to confirm that Michael J. Fox is, in fact, still alive. Via the outlet, Fox's representative said:
Michael is doing great. He was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and was giving interviews.
Fox appeared at PaleyFest for the wrap party of Shrinking Season 3, which he joined after retiring from acting. His appearance was reportedly a surprise, but also well documented with posts on Instagram with the actor looking alive, well, and happy among his castmates. (You can find Shrinking streaming now with an Apple TV+ subscription.) Much like Mark Twain back in the day, reports of Fox's death were greatly exaggerated. CNN has since released a statement via a spokesperson:
The package was published in error; we have removed it from our platforms and send our apologies to Michael J. Fox and his family.
While Michael J. Fox stepped back from acting due to declining health from his diagnosis with Parkinson's disease, he arrived on Apple TV+ well before his Shrinking debut. The Still: A Michael J. Fox documentary arrived on the streamer in 2023 to showcase the actor's life while struggling with the effects of Parkinson's, and ranked as one of the best movies of 2023. His first episode of Shrinking launched in early 2026, and he took on some voice roles in the meantime, including in Zootopia 2.
Joining Shrinking was quite a big deal, not least because star and co-creator Jason Segal already "idolized" the Spin City star. Harrison Ford praised Fox's "courage, his fortitude, and his grace" that made him "essential" for Season 3, and co-creator Bill Lawrence already assured fans well ahead of the premiere that Fox wouldn't just be "a walk-by" or quick cameo.
It remains to be seen if Michael J. Fox will make a statement about the rumors of his death after CNN's misleading post, but his most recent post on Instagram at the time of writing was from just a few weeks ago to congratulate the people who ran for Team Fox for Parkinson's Research on behalf of The Michael J. Fox Foundation at the 2026 United Airlines NYC Half marathon. He was all smiles there, and his badge rightfully identified him as a VIP.
Suffice it to say that everybody can celebrate that CNN's headline was not breaking the news of Michael J. Fox's death, and he's alive and well.
