One of the many pitfalls of being a celebrity is living in constant fear that you're about to be wrongly outed as dead.
In the age of social media, false declarations of celebrity deaths have become more popular than ever, such is the quickness with which such stories can spread, especially if there isn't an immediate denial from the person in question.
Gone are the days where a cryptic email would pass between 50 people in an office suggesting that a beloved television star had indeed passed away, and such speculation never went beyond those four walls, now there is a very real chance of a celebrity being declared dead and the world offering tributes all before they've woken up and had their morning coffee.
Such a fate fell to Lil Tay, after a post on her Instagram account said that she had passed away, but less than 24 hours later she declared herself alive, claiming to have been hacked.
Here are a list of 19 celebrities to live through this troubling phenomenon:
1. Sir Paul McCartney
In the 1960s there was a conspiracy theory suggesting the legendary Beatles singer was indeed dead. He publicly denied such rumors in an interview with the BBC.
2. Sean Connery
One of the more recognizable James Bonds was once forced onto the Late Show with David Letterman just to deny rumors that he was deceased after a translation error kickstarted the rumor in Japan.
3. Tom Cruise
Cruise laughed off suggestions he had died in a plumbing accident in 2010, blaming the Internet.
4. Matt Damon
Damon was declared dead in the form of song lyrics in 2009, which led to his wife describing the situation as 'weird'.
5. George Clooney
George Clooney has been reported dead on multiple occasions, with the actor quoting Mark Twain to dispel such rumors.
6. Beyonce
In 2015 a Twitter rumor suggested Beyonce had died in a car accident, she was then reported dead a year later from blood-loss. Both rumors were fake.
7. Gene Hackman
A headline error saw Twitter jump to the conclusion Gene Hackman was dead. #
8. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
The Rock was reported to have fallen off a cliff in New Zealand in 2014, however he responded in typically humorous fashion.
9. James Earl Jones
A parody website reported his death and social media believed it to be real.
10. Russell Crowe
He was declared dead as part of a radio prank in 2010, only to then tweet that he was actually dead... mocking the incident.
11. Hilary Duff
Duff was the second person to be reported dead after falling off a New Zealand cliff. This rumor didn't last long when she was seen in Los Angeles.
12. Brad Pitt
In 2016 his name trended after speculation emerged that he had been killed in a shooting. He released a statement denying the reports.
Brad PItt was seen in Austin, Texas attending the latest edition of Formula 1
13. Kirk Douglas
Douglas was killed off twice by the media, but ended up living to 103.
14. Abraham Vigoda
People magazine mistakenly labelled the actor as 'late' so he posed for a picture in Variety with him holding the magazine in question inside a coffin.
15. Morgan Freeman
A Facebook page was created in memory of Freeman, but he posted on Twitter confirming he was alive.
16. Steven Seagal
Another Facebook page hoax was to blame here.
17. Jackie Chan
#RIPJackieChan trending on Twitter was a worrying sign, yet he then released a statement confirming he wasn't dead.
18. Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Terminator didn't pass away from a heart attack in 2015, despite reports saying he had.
19. Tanya Roberts
In this case, Roberts did actually die, however her publicist mistakenly sent out the announcement whilst she was still in hospital... breathing.
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