Tyler Perry has cleared up the rumor that his longtime friend Cassi Davis is dead. Davis became a trending topic on Feb. 20 when fans reacted with shock to reports that she passed away from lung cancer, but that could not be further from the truth.
The Mississippi native first began working with Perry in 2005. She has appeared in several film installments and stage productions of the Madea franchise, where she has played Bam.
She also landed a starring role as Aunt Ella on the “House of Payne” television series, which is set to begin production on its 12th season sometime in the near future.
In a social media post, Perry shared a screenshot of one of the stories circulating online. In an attached voice memo, he said he was confused when people began reaching out to him to express condolences after hearing the fake news.
While the director said he did not want to repost the false narrative, he did so to make the truth known.
“I call her up and say, ‘Cassi, do you know about these death hoaxes?’ and she said, ‘Yes, Tyler, this is the third or fourth time this has happened, and people just need to stop doing this,’” Perry recalled. From there, he said the two traded jokes.
He revealed, “I said, ‘Cassi, you sure you’re not dead? ’She said, ‘Well, I feel like I’m in Heaven ‘cause these chicken wings I’m eating are so good.’.. ‘When I saw that Al Sharpton was at my funeral, I tried to call him just to thank him.’”
Their lighthearted banter even included Perry ensuring the actress that he would break the news whenever she does pass away. Davis quipped, “’ Thank you, but I’m sure I’m going to outlive you.’”
Tyler Perry had to call Cassi Davis (Aunt Bam /Aunt Ella) and ask her if she was dead cause y'all making up rumors. She said 'Hell No' she ain't dead. 😂 Leave folks alone. #CassiDavis #TylerPerry https://t.co/nYco6Sf0b6 pic.twitter.com/TNVYi8CdnZ
— SpeakinForMyself (@Speakin4Myself) February 20, 2023In the post’s caption, the mogul wrote, “Can whoever is responsible for this please stop you better be careful when you speak death over a child of God. This woman is loved by millions and you’re hurting a lot of people.”
In the comments, people, like Tamar Braxton, wrote, “I had a full on panic attack … till I got a text from her.”
“Man write it into the script I know she will make it funny af.”
“Madea said HELLLUR Bam is you dead? She said Mable I answered the phone.”
Last month, Angela Bassett’s son, Slater, made headlines when he pranked his mom with a Michael B. Jordan death hoax. The teen recorded her as she gasped in shock before he eventually told her it was a joke.
Soon after he caught flak for the video posted to TikTok, he issued a public apology to Jordan and those who might have been hurt by the new distasteful trend.
When asked about the incident, Bassett said that Slater walked away with a valuable lesson about owning your mistakes and taking responsibility.
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