Disclaimer: This all went down two weeks ago but I was busy canoodling with supermodels in between classified missions so it’s new and great to me.
There’s nothing like a good internet death hoax, amirite? Of course I am. The internet will believe anything. The trick is picking the target and the backstory. And thanks to the horrific Django Unchained death by dogs scene, one clever individual on Tumblr saw his opportunity to proclaim hard-working actor Ato Essandoh — best known for Copper, “Smiling African Drummer”, and various other appearances in film and television — dead.
This nifty TIL viral graphic did the trick:
But little did the hoaxer know that Ato Essandoh is in fact awesome, and upon being notified of his own death he starting answering fan questions from beyond the grave via Twitter:
Dude is simply a delight. And my new favorite actor. As far as I’m concerned he made up the death hoax himself. That’s just creative and opportunistic PR.
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Also, there’s a “the ‘D’ is silent” joke somewhere in here that I didn’t make.
Anyone who didn’t realize it was fake by the time they finished reading it… well, let’s just say they can’t read to begin with.
but, but, it was and infographic. As in, INFO. It has to be true.
More like when they started reading it. I’m not likely to believe anything from Facebook (especially when there’s the actual rest of the internet to verify anything in two seconds), but death hoaxes are the laziest attempt at humor since “pull my finger”.
Also, dude is awesome in Copper.
I recognize him, it’s the African smile.
Goddammit.
I saw that guy and was like “Wait, wasn’t he the guy who does “The African face” in Get Him to the Greek”?
And then I thought “That’s probably not him, and damn I am so racist for thinking that.”
And then it turned out to actually be him and I’m all “Shit…I was right but it kind of feels more racist because I feel like I just assumed it was him”
I hate the internet when it makes me fall into a racial version of Inception.
He was one of the kids with the flies on his face! (Garden State.) And he’s great at Twitter! Also, in the banner picture, he somehow resembles a black B.J. Novak.