Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance's Son Apologizes for Participating in Fake Celebrity Death TikTok Trend

By Daniel S. Levine

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance's 16-year-old son Slater Vance apologized for taking part in a viral TikTok trend in which teens record their parents' reactions when they falsely tell them a celebrity died. Slater told Bassett and Vance that Michael B. Jordan died, news that left them shocked. The video was met with swift backlash because Bassett is close friends with Jordan, and they worked together on the two Black Panther movies.

"I apologize to Michael B. Jordan's entire family, his extended family, and him directly as he is an idol of mine," Slater said Saturday, reports Complex. "Taking part in a trend like this is completely disrespectful. I don't wish any bad ramifications upon his family nor my parents as they deserve none of the backlash."

"I own this was a mistake," Slater continued. "I hope this can be a teaching lesson to anyone who uses social media as a tool and a source of entertainment to truly understand that your actions can have consequences that extend beyond you."

In the original video, Slater told Vance, 62, and Bassett, 64, that Jordan, 35, suddenly died. He pretended to read a fake headline, even as his mother was clearly in shock. "Stop it. You're playing," Vance told his son. The clip ended before showing how Vance and Bassett reacted when Slater revealed he was pranking them.

Slater and his twin sister Bronwyn were included in the family's New Year's Day photo. "Hey Everybody you good? Happy New Year from our family to yours! May ALL your dreams come TRUE & ALL your blessings OVERFLOW," Bassett wrote, with no mention of the TikTok controversy.

Slater was participating in a viral TikTok trend, where young users tell their parents that a favorite celebrity of theirs has died, even though it is not true. In one video that has over 13 million views, a TikTok user tells their mother that Ozzy Osbourne died while she was preparing food for Christmas day. The video ends before the TikTok user told their mother that Osbourne is not dead.

Bassett and Vance, who won an Emmy for playing Johnnie Cochran in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, married in 1997. They welcomed Slater and Bronwyn in 2006. Bassett worked with Jordan on Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. 

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