Sylvester Stallone has responded to reports of his death, joking that he is "still punching". The 71-year-old actor was the victim of a cruel Twitter hoax earlier this week, with several posts claiming that he had died after a secret battle with cancer. Sylvester reassured fans across his social media channels, writing: "Please ignore this stupidity… Alive and well and happy and healthy… Still punching!"
The Rocky star also shared a picture of the hoax post that had been doing the rounds. "Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone died early this morning after his battle with prostate cancer, the actor kept his illness a secret, but in the end he couldn't beat it," the post read. An accompanying photo collage showed a balding Sylvester looking unwell and downtrodden.
The actor quashed the rumours on Twitter and Instagram
The father-of-five also joked that it was "great to be back from the dead" as he shared another video on Instagram. The family man had playfully locked his daughters out of the house while a storm brewed outside. "What's wrong? Is it cold? Is it cold?" Sylvester asked his daughters Sophia, 21, and Sistine, 19, as he refused to let them in. "Locking my daughters outside during a slight hail storm… It's so great to be back from the Dead!!!" he quipped.
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His comments came hours after his brother Frank Stallone also assured fans the Hollywood actor was alive and well. "Rumours that my brother is dead are false. What kind of sick demented cruel mind thinks of things like this to post? People like this are mentally deranged and don't deserve a place in society," he tweeted.
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Frank went on to explain that the photo of Sylvester looking well beyond his years was taken from his role on Creed, when he was having his makeup done. He also tweeted: "I'm very protective of my older brother and I don't find any humour in this fake post today on my brother's demise. It upset my 96 yr old mother so I'm doubly upset. I just can't understand what makes these sick-minded people tick?"