Bee Gees’ icon Barry Gibb death rumours spread in viral hoax, his team responds

Bee Gees icon Barry Gibb is alive and well, his team have confirmed following a viral post claiming he had died.

The 79-year-old was the latest celebrity to be targeted in a death hoax online, with numerous posts getting momentum online due to false claims over the past weekend.

Now, family sources have told TMZ that the claims of his passing are false, and added that Gibb is “healthy, happy, and living life at his Miami-area home”.

It appears that false claims of his death got momentum on Sunday (May 24) when a page popped up on Facebook called ‘R.I.P Barry Gibb’, and went on to get just under one million ‘likes’.

The page was soon taken down, although the rumours about the health of the ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ singer continued to circulate online, with many more posts claiming that he had died appearing on social media, as well as several AI-generated images of Gibb.

Barry Gibb is not dead… the singer is healthy and happy.

Read more: https://t.co/EJyeyW7HKU pic.twitter.com/S2A30LAikq

— TMZ (@TMZ) May 26, 2026

The iconic singer rose to fame as a founding member of the Bee Gees, forming the group alongside his younger brothers, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The trio are behind hits like ‘Night Fever’, ‘Stayin’ Alive’ and ‘Too Much Heaven’, and are one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Barry is the last surviving member of the group, with Maurice passing away in 2003 and Robin dying in 2012.

This is far from the first time that a famous person has fallen victim to a viral death hoax, and TMZ highlights that other artists to be caught up in the unsettling trend over the years have included Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Justin Bieber and Michael J. Fox.

In other Bee Gees news, at the end of 2024 it was reported that two of the band’s drummers died within less than a week of one another.

The death of Dennis Byron – who played on some of the band’s biggest hits  – was confirmed by former Bee Gees member Blue Weaver on Facebook on November 14, and it was then confirmed that the band’s first drummer, Colin “Smiley” Petersen died on November 18.

In February 2024, it was also reported that Ridley Scott was in talks to helm a biopic based on the Bee Gees. Barry Gibb was announced to executive produce, although it was confirmed last year that the project had been stalled due to issues regarding a Paramount deal.

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