This is not a Rickroll. I stopped taking part in that trend about two years ago. But it is a video implying Rick Astley is dead, stating he died in the Angleterre hotel in Berlin. And then, rather obviously, the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up.
Let’s be clear on this – Rick Astley is NOT dead. It’s a prank, an Internet wind-up, the ultimate Rickroll being played on the world. But this little joke went further than most, with many news organizations falling for the breaking news.
Rick Astley is just the latest in a long line of celebrities to have supposedly died since Michael Jackson shuffled off the mortal coil last week. Farrah Fawcett and Billy Mays have sadly died, but all the other names mentioned are still alive and kicking.
So, Rick Astley, Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Ellen DeGeneres, and Harrison Ford and all fine. They’re not dead. I like a joke as much as the next man (or woman) but joking about someone’s death is pretty low.
