Mr. Bean, RIP?! Rowan Atkinson Killed Off in Latest Twitter Death Hoax

Twitter user in the Philippines joked that the British actor had died, then apologized when he realized his prank went viral

By Rebecca Macatee Feb 27, 2012 6:05 PMTags
Rowan AtkinsonLEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

Let's not be mean to Mr. Bean.

Over the weekend, British actor Rowan Atkinson became the last celebrity to fall victim to a death hoax, with "RIP Rowan Atkinson" briefly becoming a top trending topic on Twitter Sunday.

Thankfully, Atkinson is alive and well, but how those untrue death rumors get started in the first place?

According to International Business Times, Michael Robert Meras, a Twitter user in the Philippines, posted "R.I.P. Rowan Atkinson" around 11 a.m. local time Sunday. (He has since deleted his account.)

That tweet quickly went viral, and someone even updated Atkinson's Wikipedia page to list Sunday as the date of his death.

After realizing the magnitude of his tweet, Meras apologized for spreading false information. "Shutting down now. Sorry guys, RIP Rowan Atkinson was just a joke," he wrote. "Sorry for that matter, I never thought it would be that viral. We<3MrBean"

We're sure glad Mr. Bean is OK, but this should be a lesson: watch what you tweet!