Keanu Reeves has been trending on X (formerly Twitter) since a false viral post (that emerged in February 2024) claiming that he refused to present the “Lifetime Achievement Award” to Whoopi Goldberg resurfaced on the internet.
The post has been re-shared on X by @SaveAmericaNew on November 22 and has garnered almost 1.7 million views. In the post, the handle wrote, “BREAKING: Keanu Reeves Refuses to Present Whoopi Goldberg’s Lifetime Achievement Award: “She’s Not a Good Person” Do you support this? YES OR NO”
According to Reuters, the original article was fictional and posted by a website called the Dunning-Kruger Times, which describes itself as part of “America’s Last Line Of Defense’s (ALLOD) network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery.” Even the website’s page says that it produces fictional content.
An excerpt from the original article reads:
“Reeves was chosen to present this year's Lifetime Achievement Award by the TV Production Committee, a role he was honoured to take on...until he heard that he'd have to share the stage and present the award to Whoopi Goldberg.”
"She's not a nice person," said Reeves in a voice that almost sounded like he was addressing Rufus outside the Circle K, "I don't want to be remembered as the guy who made that mistake."
Christopher Blair, responsible for creating the articles for the Dunning-Kruger Times, said, “Everything posted on any website or Facebook page affiliated with ALLOD is intended as satire. There is no ‘source.’ We deal in fictional confirmation bias.”
How have social media users reacted to the viral post?
The satirical post about Keanu Reeves's false remarks about Whoopi Goldberg has evoked strong reactions from the netizens. Some users have supported Keanu for his statement claiming that “Whoopi is not a good person,” as they believe the news to be true.
“YES. I'm glad Keanu Reeves has the intellect to understand that Whoopi is not a good person. I'm glad he has the integrity to refuse to present such an award to her.” One user tweeted on X.
“yet another reason to love Keanu Reeves!!!! YES!” One user wrote on X.
“KR knows one when he sees one. What has she achieved in her lifetime exactly, that merits an award? Her hateful divisive race baiting is all I personally ever witness on screen.” A third said.
Some users admitted that the news was nothing but a work of fiction. They believe that Keanu Reeves can’t say anything like that in public.
“Let's pump the brakes here for just a second folks. There is ZERO chance that Keanu Reeves said that out loud.” A fourth wrote.
“And you aren't a smart person. It took less than 30 seconds to fact check this nonsense and it's utter BS claim.” One more tweeted.
“I don’t support false stories that are clickbait and disproven months ago. How’s that work for ya?” Someone else wrote.
Besides Reuters, multiple fact-checking outlets verified that no claims support the rumor. The story has only been published as a clickbait so that it could spread misinformation and gain traction. Currently, neither Keanu Reeves nor Whoopi Goldberg have responded to the viral post.