Fake news! Daniel Radcliffe shut down a rumor that he has come down with the novel coronavirus with a witty response.
Misinformation on the matter surfaced earlier this week when a hoax Twitter account posed as BBC News with the handle @BBCNewsTonight and shared a tweet that stated Radcliffe, 30, “tests positive” for the illness. The account claimed Radcliffe was the first celebrity to become infected.
“I walked into the hair and makeup room on a play yesterday, and the makeup artist was like, ‘My niece has just texted me and told me you’ve got corona,’” the Miracle Workers actor told Australian radio show “Smallzy’s Surgery” on Wednesday, March 11. “I think it was on a fake BBC account, but then enough people saw it. That is the internet.”
The Harry Potter alum then joked, “I think it’s just because I look ill all the time, so you can believably say it about me. ‘Cause I’m very pale. But, you know, flattered they chose me.”
Though Radcliffe has not contracted the virus, other stars have been impacted by it. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, for one, were the first celebrities to test positive with the infection on Wednesday. At the time, the couple were down in Australia because Hanks was in pre-production for the upcoming Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis Presley biopic.
In the wake of the health scare, Warner Bros. confirmed that pre-production on the film has been suspended until further notice. The studio told Deadline that they “are working closely with the appropriate Australian health agencies to identify and contact anyone who may have come in direct contact with the individual,” who would now appear to be the 63-year-old Forrest Gump actor.
Hanks, for his part, noted via Instagram on Wednesday that he and Wilson, 63, are taking things “one-day-at-a-time” after feeling “a bit tired” while having “colds and some body aches.”
That same day, the NBA canceled the remainder of its season after Utah Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. After officials examined all other Utah Jazz players and staffers, Donovan Mitchell was also confirmed to have the illness.
There are more than 129,000 coronavirus cases worldwide, but only 4,751 deaths have been confirmed. The illness, also known as COVID-19, spreads from person to person. Symptoms for coronavirus include coughing, fever and sore throat.
