Jon Bon Jovi's song "Wanted Dead or Alive" didn't ultimately lead to his demise - the singer is still "Livin' on a Prayer." In fact, he even poked fun at his recent death rumors by sharing a photo of himself holding up a piece of paper that reads, "Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey" (sound like a great title for a new song!). Amazingly he's not the only celebrity who has returned from the dead this year - here's a look back at a few other notable death hoaxes of 2011:
Lil' Kim
This is one of the most hilarious death rumors of the year. However, in this instance a hoaxer didn't start spreading word of the pint-sized rapper's demise on Twitter - instead tweeple were getting her confused with recently-deceased North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. But don't worry - while everyone's favorite "Team America: World Police" puppet is definitely dead, Lil' Kim lives to fight with Nicki Minaj another day (luckily without her own arsenal of nuclear weapons).
Lil Wayne
This other "lil" rapper rose from the dead in August of this year - shortly after rumors surfaced that he died in a car accident, Weezy tweeted that he was actually "shreddin" at a skate park. So apparently a love of ollies helped the sk8tr boi pull through.
Justin Bieber
The Biebs has been a popular celebrity target of death hoaxes for years, probably because many of his fans are young, impressionable, and always on the internet. In recent years he's committed suicide, gotten shot at a nightclub, and died of a drug overdose. However, this year he had to take to Twitter to deny an even crazier rumor that his assistant shot him while he was walking to a limo. It was probably tough for him to tell his fans that there was no truth to this tale -- after all, it would have made him look a lot more "gangsta" than letting his pink underwear hang out does. But at least Beliebers are never left mourning for long since the pop star checks in on them on Twitter so often.
Lady Gaga
Gaga also has legions of fans that obsess over her on the internet, so it's not surprising that her death rumor spread across the web rather quickly back in August. The rumor started on Facebook with a fake BBC report stating that the musician died in her hotel room, but it was quickly debunked. It's a good thing, too - Mama Monster seems like the celebrity who would be most likely to return to the land of the living as a zombie.
Charlie Sheen
After Charlie's bizarre behavior this year, no one would have been surprised if he really died. However, he responded to reports that cardiac arrest killed him back in July with this tweet: "Warlock: long nap…very much alive." So he wasn't really dead - he was probably just knocked out in some special hyperbaric chamber having his tiger blood replenished so that he could go back to living like a bitchin' rock star from Mars. After all, who wants to die when you can already hang out with goddesses on Earth?
Hugh Hefner
And why would Hef leave this world when he shares his home with a bunch of half-naked beauties? However, it might be one of those beauties that helped fuel his death hoax - when Crystal Harris left him at the altar, perhaps some people thought Hef was destined to die of a broken heart. This proved to be untrue, and here's what he tweeted this about his death rumors: "The rumors of my death are, as Mark Twain observed in a similar situation, greatly exaggerated. I'm very much alive & kicking." But referencing erroneous pre-Twitter rumors of Twain's demise reminds the world just how old Hef really is (Death must get invited to parties at the Playboy mansion all the time).
Speaking of being alive and kicking, this beloved action star didn't kick the bucket this year, either. First there was a rumor that he died of a heart attack back in March, but the energetic actor didn't let that stop him from living to kick butt for another day. Death rumors resurfaced in August when an "R.I.P. Jackie Chan" Facebook page was started in his memory, but it seems that even death can't defeat the drunken master.
Will Smith
Right before April Fools' Day, Global Associated News printed a story that Will Smith had died during the shooting of a movie in New Zealand after falling off a cliff. Of course this turned out to be nothing more than a sick prank. Just weeks before his death hoax, there was a similar rumor that his son (and the Biebs' BFF) Jaden Smith had died after a snowboarding accident in Switzerland. Maybe the Smith family better try not to tempt fate by staying away from mountains.
Celebrity death hoaxes like these make the web a dangerous place for stars' super fans - they could end getting extremely upset even though their favorite celebs aren't actually dead yet (plus some death reports are actually links to sites containing malware). So did you fall for any of 2011's biggest death hoaxes?
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