William Shatner Shuts Down Rumors He Has Brain Cancer

STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 20: (L-R) William Shatner and Jon Cryer attend Concert For America 2025 - Los Angeles on January 20, 2025 in Studio City, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

What To Know

  • William Shatner publicly denied false rumors about having brain cancer.
  • Shatner addressed the misinformation on both X and Instagram.

Reports about William Shatner‘s declining health appear to be greatly exaggerated, if not completely made up. And the source for that comes from the man himself.

The Star Trek icon recently addressed an unverified, unsubstantiated Facebook page posing as a “wedding planning service” that appears to be profiting off AI-generated images of William Shatner, falsely depicting him as “battling for his life.” Filled with fabricated celebrity stories and AI-created images of events that seemingly never occurred, the page prompted Shatner to respond directly after concerned fans reached out.

“My Daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer. She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I’m not ill. The people who are ill are those that are spreading these ridiculous stories,” wrote Shatner on X. “I’m fit as a fiddle. You don’t have to worry.”

In addition to the post on X, Shatner also took to Instagram to denounce the Facebook group and address his fans. “I wanted to put this out yesterday, but given the day and the possibility that it would look like a joke, I waited for today. There is a page on Facebook that is using AI to create horrible fake news stories about me,” wrote the T.J. Hooker actor.

“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. All their stories are monetized. Most of the stories use an AI image of me. Facebook Support will not remove the page,” Shatner continued. “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.”

In the post, Shatner shared examples of the blatant AI misuse that co-opted his likeness for fake content, including an image reading “Fighting Cancer: Stay Strong” and a screenshot referencing a supposed “fight” with Kirk, something that, of course, never happened.

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A post shared by William Shatner (@williamshatner)

Fans were relieved that Shatner was healthy, happy, and not in a fight with any divisive political figures.