William Shatner, 95, firmly hits back at brain cancer diagnosis rumours after sick hoax: 'Fit as a fiddle!'

Alex Davies
Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:06:56 +0000

William Shatner has firmly dismissed claims circulating online that he is suffering from stage 4 brain cancer, posting a photograph to demonstrate his good health.

The 95-year-old Star Trek legend took to social media on Thursday to address the false reports after learning about them through his family.

"My Daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer," he wrote on X. "She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I'm not ill." (sic)

The image showed the actor seated in a garden chair, appearing cheerful and well.

"The people who are ill are those that are spreading these ridiculous stories," Mr Shatner added. "I'm fit as a fiddle. You don't have to worry."

The beloved Captain Kirk actor pinpointed a Facebook page called The Beanstalk Functions Group as the origin of the fabricated stories about his health.

According to Mr Shatner, the page had been employing artificial intelligence to generate false narratives, including claims that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma and was "battling for his life."

The fake content also included AI-created images depicting the actor lying in a hospital bed, as well as an invented story about a dispute with someone named Erika Kirk.

"They have created stories that say I have stage 4 brain cancer, was in some kind of fight with Erika Kirk and that I'm dying," Mr Shatner explained in his post.

The actor highlighted the financial motivation behind such fabrications, noting that all the stories on the page were monetised.

"None of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money," he wrote.

Mr Shatner revealed he had reported the page to Facebook Support, but the platform initially declined to take action.

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"This is the downside of AI and yellow journalism," he warned. "While it can be a wonderful tool in the right hands; it can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands."

The offending Facebook page has since been removed.

Mr Shatner deliberately postponed his response until after April 1 to ensure his message would not be mistaken for an April Fools' Day prank.

The Montreal-born actor urged his followers to exercise caution when encountering stories about him online.

Good news and bad news. @Facebook did remove the page but now @rauchg who is the CEO of @vercel (who oversees @nextjs) tells me the company cannot see a reason to remove the posted fake AI stories made by whomever was behind the page. 🤷🏼

Vercel has Ts and Cs:… pic.twitter.com/5wjk3DD1Z9
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) April 3, 2026

"If you see a bizarre story about me; unless you see it posted on one of my verified accounts, take it with a grain of salt," he advised.

This is not the first occasion Mr Shatner has had to counter false health reports.

Last September, he denied claims of a medical emergency, attributing a brief hospital visit to overindulgence and reminding fans: "Don't trust tabloids or AI!"

The actor, who celebrated his 95th birthday on March 22, remains active with an upcoming live tour and new album in the works.