Ghosts actor John Hartman has said TMZ contacted people close to him, including his sister, claiming he had died.
The 42-year-old, who plays Nigel Chessum in the CBS comedy series, addressed what he described as a death hoax in a video shared on social media.
“Yesterday, TMZ called a number of people in my life, including my sister, and said I died,” Hartman said.
He said the situation had since been resolved, adding: “It was all a misunderstanding. It got cleared up. Frankly, I didn’t know that TMZ cared if I was alive or not…. Did give people quite a scare though.”
Hartman added that he had learnt a lesson from the incident and should use Instagram more often “to prove that I’m alive”.
He captioned the video: “In case ya missed it. Live In Peace,” followed by a clarification that it was “100% real, not AI, not a joke”.
Hartman did not explain why TMZ believed he had died or why people close to him were contacted. TMZ has not responded to the claim.
