Posts falsely claim to show Canadian singer Celine Dion on her deathbed in March 2023

This article is more than one year old.
Published on March 28, 2023 at 15:14
3 min read
By Fikayo OWOEYE, AFP Nigeria

Months after Celine Dion announced that she was suffering from Stiff-Person Syndrome, social media accounts shared a video purportedly showing the Canadian superstar on her deathbed. Other posts claimed she had passed away. Dion’s management confirmed that the singer was alive and not the woman who is seen in the clip. AFP Fact Check traced the original video to a TikTok user who said the hospital patient in the footage was her dying cousin who had chosen to donate her organs upon her death.

“RIP Celine Dion,” reads a TikTok post published on March 12, 2023.

The 30-second clip shows a hospital patient on a ventilator being wheeled down a corridor past medical staff. A group of people follows her, some of whom are crying.

A song is played over the scene.

The post has been shared more than 8,000 times.

A screenshot showing the false post, taken on March 23, 2023

Similar claims have circulated on Facebook here and here.

The posts surfaced after Dion, 54, announced in December 2022 that she was cancelling shows after being diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome.

According to the US National Organization for Rare Disorders, the condition affects one in a million people and causes painful muscle spasms triggered by events such as loud noises, light physical contact or stress.

AFP has debunked false claims relating to Dion’s condition in the past.

Video from Ohio

Dion’s management told AFP Fact Check that the singer’s rumoured death was false.

“Please be advised that the person in this video is not Ms Celine Dion, and the story about her death is false,” said Chantal Tessier of Les Productions Feeling entertainment company.

AFP Fact Check spotted a TikTok handle in the video and traced the original clip to an account called “Taylor Marie Barlow”.

This extended clip of 1’22” shows the same scene but with a longer focus at the end on the crowd following. It features the same song heard in the edited version shared with the false claim.

Responding to users asking about the identity of the woman in the video, Barlow said the footage showed her cousin’s final moments of life before donating her organs.

Screenshots showing Barlow's responses to the video on her TikTok page

An advanced search led to Barlow’s Facebook page where she also shared the same video on February 27, 2023.

“You are loved by soo many people Tiff. This wasn’t how I wanted to remember my last moments with you, but you are giving someone the chance for you to live through them,” she wrote.

Barrow’s Facebook page lists her as living in Marion, Ohio.

A sign reading “Ohio Health” can be seen in the video as the hospital patient is being wheeled past a reception area.

A search for “Ohio Health” revealed it is a network of not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare facilities serving central Ohio in the United States.

AFP has contacted both Barlow and Ohio Health for comment and will update this report accordingly.

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