William Shatner has blasted fake news stories that he has stage four brain cancer, and warned against the dangers of AI getting into the wrong hands.
The actor, known for his role as Captain Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, took to social media to assure his followers that these rumours are not true, and said that artificial intelligence "can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands".
Describing these false reports as "horrible fake new stories", Shatner wrote: "They have created stories that say I have stage 4 brain cancer, was in some kind of fight with Erika Kirk and that I'm dying".
"All their stories are monetised. Most of the stories use an AI image of me".
Shatner went on to warn his followers about the dangers of AI, stating that while they have plenty of positive points, it can still be used as a "weapon".
"None of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money", he said.
"This is the downside of AI and yellow journalism. While can be a wonderful tool in the right hands; it can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands".
"If you see a bizarre story about me; unless you see it posted on one of my verified accounts take it with a grain of salt".
My Daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer. 🙄 She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I'm not ill. The people who are ill are those that are spreading these ridiculous stories. I'm fit as a fiddle. You don't have to worry. pic.twitter.com/r1uAWHiuwM
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) April 2, 2026
William Shatner had starred as the captain of the Starship Enterprises, which he also reprised for the film adaptions.
Back in 2021, Shatner became the oldest person to go into space at 90 years old, thanks to the Jeff Bezos' owner Blue Origin New Shepard. More on this story from Nova here.
