British actor Rowan Atkinson poses during a photocall at the presentation of his movie 'Mr. Bean's Holiday', 11 April 2007 in Paris. (AFP / Joel Saget)

British actor Rowan Atkinson becomes target of death hoax by bogus Mr. Bean account

This article is more than one year old.
Published on June 3, 2021 at 10:00
1 min read
By AFP Philippines

Facebook posts shared thousands of times claim Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson died on May 29, 2021. The claim is false: the British actor is alive, his management team told AFP on June 1, 2021. The false claim first originated on a bogus Mr. Bean Facebook page.

The claim was posted here on May 29, 2021.

The post, published on a Facebook page called “Mr.Bean”, was shared more than 7,000 times before it was deleted.

The image’s text overlay reads: “REST IN PEACE / Rowan Sebastian ‘MR.BEAN’ Atkinson / Born: 6 January 1955 -- Died: 29 May 2021”.

(A screenshot of the misleading post taken on June 2, 2021)

Rowan Atkinson is a British actor best known for his television character Mr. Bean, a role he first played in 1990.

An identical image with the same claim was also shared in Facebook posts here, here, here and here.

Comments on the posts indicated some people were misled by the claim.

“Rest in peace. Thank you for the best childhood [memories],” one wrote.

“We will never forget you, the one and only Mr. Bean. We will miss you,” wrote another.

However, the claim is false.

PBJ Management, the talent agency that manages Atkinson, denied the actor had died.

“I can confirm he’s alive,” a spokesperson for PBJ Management told AFP on June 1, 2021.

Bogus page

The Facebook page that shared the hoax is not the official page for the Mr. Bean television show.

It was created on May 29, 2021 -- the same day it posted the graphic that falsely claimed Atkinson died.

The official Mr. Bean page here was created on April 13, 2008. It has been verified by Facebook.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the bogus Facebook page (L) and the official Mr Bean Facebook page (R):

Atkinson has been a frequent target of death hoaxes throughout the years.

Media organisations have previously debunked hoaxes claiming he died in 2012; 2013; 2015; 2016; 2017; and 2018.

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