Over 20 years after his time as host on Nick Jr. children's show Blue's Clues, entertainer Steve Burns continues to be affected by rumors about his death.
Around the time that Burns stopped hosting Blue's Clues, death hoaxes circulated about him, with allegations about a drug overdose to a tragic car accident circulated.
In a recent New York Times article, Burns addressed the rumors, sharing that they greatly impacted his mental health.
"Everyone thought I was dead for a while," he said. "That hurt, to be honest. And it kind of messed me up because that was happening while the internet was just sort of beginning to internet. No one, including myself, was kind of prepared for the degree of consensus that it represented."
He continued, "When a zillion, trillion people all think you're dead for 15 years, it freaks you out."
In a 2022 Variety feature, Burns explained that he would try to make public appearances to dispel the rumors. But in the early 2000s, social media hadn't yet caught on, TikTok (Burns' platform of choice) didn't exist, and some still believed that he was deceased.
"I was under the working assumption that most of y’all thought I was dead,” he told the publication. “That rumor was so persistent and so indelible that I assumed it was a cultural preference. I eventually just took the hint. I kept my head down and left public life."
Burns launched a major comeback timed with the 25th anniversary of Blue's Clues, endearingly telling the show's now-adult fans that he "never forgot" about them.
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