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Angela Bassett’s son has issued an apology after receiving backlash for pretending her Black Panther co-star Michael B Jordan had died.
Slater Vance, 16, who the award-winning actress shares with actor Courtney B Vance, has become the latest to jump on the divisive yet popular TikTok trend, where people film their loved ones’ reactions upon hearing a celebrity has died.
Of course, the famous person is still alive and the trend is entirely a prank, but it has sparked a moral debate about tricking their friends and family with such news.
In a recent TikTok video, Slater is seen telling his Hollywood parents: ‘Wait. Mum, Dad… Did you hear this: Michael B. Jordan dead at 35?’
Angela, 64, was immediately shocked and touched her chest while exclaiming repeatedly: ‘Unh-uh,’ while his dad Courtney, 62, stopped in his tracks.
The What’s Love Got To Do With It actress, who had just returned from an outing with husband Courtney, then rushed over to her son to check his phone before the clip cut out.
Angela Bassett was visibly shocked and clutched her chest after being told the fake news that Michael B Jordan had died (Picture: La Pictures5)
Angela and Michael are good friends having starred together in the Black Panther franchise (Picture: Getty Images)
Many have slammed the prank as insensitive, particularly as Angela suffered the death of her friend and co-star Chadwick Boseman, who had played her on-screen son in 2018’s Black Panther. Boseman died following a private battle with colon cancer in August 2020, and it emerged that hardly any of his colleagues knew about his illness, sparking greater shock.
In light of the response, Slater returned to TikTok with an emotional apology, and said: ‘I would sincerely like to apologise for taking part in such a harmful trend. I apologise to Michael B Jordan‘s entire family, his extended family and Michael directly as he is an idol of mine and taking part in a trend like this is completely disrespectful.’
He continued: ‘I don’t wish any bad ramifications of my actions upon his family nor my parents as they deserve none of the backlash. I own this was a mistake and I hope this can be a teaching lesson to anyone else who uses social media as a tool and a source of entertainment to truly understand that your actions can have consequences that extend beyond you.
Slater Vance was tearful as he apologised for his actions (Picture: tiktok/slater.vance)
Angela and husband Courtney B Vance share Slater and his twin sister Bronwyn (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I apologise for any hurt that my actions might have caused Mr Jordan or my parents or anyone else who could have been involved in this, and I am truly, truly and sincerely sorry.’
Reacting to Slater’s apology, singer Mario commented on Instagram: ‘S**t outta pocket! People so Desensitized to death on the internet that it’s a joke now. Danm!’
One agreed: ‘Yeah it’s a sick trend. Nothing funny about joking about people’s death.’
Another critic said: ‘He was too insensitive Knowing how Chads death affected her. When we are teens we can be soooo silly. Excellent parenting tho.’
However, comedian Judi Love defended the youngster and weighed in: ‘That’s an apology. He made a mistake… Let’s keep it moving and stop sharing the original video! X.’
Agreeing with her sentiment, one added: ‘He’s 16. Still a child. They do stupid stuff without thinking, especially when it comes to social media trends. He apologized, let’s move on and show grace.’
Angela starred alongside Creed actor Michael, 35, in the first instalment of Black Panther, and both also appeared in the sequel, Wakanda Forever, in which Angela took on a lead role and Michael a cameo.
Slater is Courtney’s son from her 25-year marriage to Courtney, and the couple also share the teen’s twin sister Bronwyn.
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Angela co-starred with Michael in Black Panther and the two are friends.
