Fact check: False claim that celebrities' deaths linked to child sex trafficking documentary
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The claim: Avicii, Chester Bennington, Anthony Bourdain and Chris Cornell all died by suicide while working on the film 'Silent Children'
A year-old conspiracy that recently gained traction on social media is linking four celebrities' deaths to a long-abandoned film project.
"Isn't it interesting that Avicii, Chester Bennington, Anthony Bourdain, and Chris Cornel (sic) all committed suicide while working on a documentary called The Silent Children about wide spread pedhilia/trafficking," reads the text of a Facebook post shared Jan. 10. "But the project was canceled after Cornel's death."
The post generated over 800 interactions in less than three days. Several other social media users shared this post as well.
The claim is wrong on several fronts.
DJ-producer Avicii (professional name for Tim Bergling), singers Bennington and Cornell and chef Bourdain played no part in the production of "Silent Children," as independent fact-checking organizations have noted.
The celebrities were not related to the film project in any manner, a spokesperson said. Their deaths occurred after the project was already shelved.
"Silent Children" was abandoned five years ago for issues unrelated to the celebrities.
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USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment.
Celebrities were never part of film
Arthur Gorson, the film's spokesperson, told USA TODAY there is no truth to the claim.
"We never had any contact (with the people mentioned in the post)," Gorson said. "We never had any emails. We've never reached out for funding to those people. So there never was any legitimate connection."
None of the celebrities named in the Facebook post appear in the credits of the 2011 "Silent Children" promo video uploaded to YouTube, either.
The assertion that there is a link between the film and the deaths of Avicii, Bennington, Bourdain and Cornell is also baseless, Gorson said.
The celebrities each died by suicide at different times, not while the film was in production, as the user claims.
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The Associated Press reported that Avicii died April 20, 2018. Bennington died July 20, 2017, according to an autopsy report. USA TODAY reported that Bourdain died June 8, 2018. Cornell died May 8, 2017, according to an autopsy report.
"Silent Children" was supposed to be a documentary about child trafficking, especially in countries where the authorities might have been in league with the traffickers, Gorson said.
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The film faced funding issues and was abandoned in 2017 – before the deaths of Avicii and Bourdain.
The company behind the film, JellyBeane Productions LLC, was dissolved on Jan. 9, 2017. This occurred before Cornell's death, another fact the claim gets wrong.
"We decided to stop the project where it was and that had nothing to do with Chris Cornell ever," Gorson said.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Avicii, Bennington, Bourdain and Cornell all died by suicide while working on the film "Silent Children." The celebrities had no connection to the documentary whatsoever, a spokesperson said. At least two of their deaths occurred after the project was already shelved.
Our fact-check sources:
Reuters, Aug. 19, 2020, Fact check: Avicii, Bennington, Cornell and Bourdain were not working on a child sex trafficking documentary and did take their own lives
Arthur Gorson, Jan. 11, Phone interview with USA TODAY
JBPTheSilentChildren via YouTube, Aug. 9, 2011, The Silent Children Promo
Certificate of Dissolution, Jan. 9, 2017, JellyBeane Productions LLC
Associated Press, April 26, 2018, Avicii's family says the late DJ 'could not go on any longer' in new statement
Associated Press, April 20, 2018, Avicii, DJ-producer who performed around the world, dies
Associated Press, April 26, 2018, Avicii’s family releases 2nd statement about late DJ
USA TODAY, June 8, 2018, Chef-turned-TV host Anthony Bourdain dies at 61
Office of the Wayne County Medical Examiner, May 8, 2017, Post Mortem Report
County of Los Angeles, July 21, 2017, Autopsy Report
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: No link between celebrities' deaths, documentary project