Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance’s teen son apologizes for participating in fake celeb death TikTok trend

By Tina Burnside, CNN

The son of actress Angela Bassett has issued an apology after receiving backlash for a viral video of him telling his parents that actor Michael B. Jordan had died.

“I would sincerely like to apologize to Michael B. Jordan’s entire family, his extended family, and him directly as he is an idol of mine,” Slater Vance said in a video apology on his Instagram account. “Taking part in a trend like this is completely disrespectful. I don’t wish any bad ramifications of this of my actions upon his family nor my parents as they deserve none of the backlash,” Vance said.

In the 27-second Tik Tok video, actress Angela Bassett and her husband actor Courtney B. Vance are in a room with Slater, 16, who is heard asking his parents if they had heard about the death of actor Michael B. Jordan. Bassett, who is clearly emotional after hearing the news, is seen walking up to her son as if she is looking to see where he is reading the news.

The video, which has since been removed, doesn’t show what Bassett’s reaction was when she learned that she was being pranked.

The younger Vance’s prank was part of a viral Tik Tok trend where users lie about celebrity deaths to their parents to see their reaction.

Bassett and Jordan are costars in the “Black Panther” film franchise.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.