A Rumor that Jeremy Renner Died in a ‘Freak Escalator Accident,’ is Totally Fake

Rumors of Jeremy Renner‘s demise in a “freak escalator accident” have been circulating, but these claims are entirely false. According to Snopes, the rumor originated on Twitter, accompanied by the hashtag “RIP Jeremy Renner.” Understandably, fans became concerned, but Snopes has confirmed that there is no substantial evidence to support this fake rumor.

Jeremy Renner is an actor and singer widely recognized for his role as Clint “Hawkeye” Barton in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has also delivered notable performances in films such as the Mission: Impossible franchise, The Hurt Locker, The Town, and Wind River. While he did not suffer any injuries in an escalator accident, earlier this year Renner was involved in a snowplow incident at his Nevada residence. On Monday, January 2, the actor was accidentally run over by his snowplow truck and required emergency transportation to a hospital via helicopter. Upon arrival, he underwent immediate surgery.

During his recovery, Renner spoke with Diane Sawyer, as reported by ET Canada, and shared the harrowing details of his experience, along with accounts from his neighbors Rich Kovach and Barb Fletcher. Kovach recalled, “He had some blood coming out of his ears, his nose for sure. And then his eye, it looked like it had been pushed out.” He was the one who dialed 911 when Renner sustained the injuries.

Fletcher added, “It was a horrible sound to listen to someone, just literally watching somebody die in front of you, and you feel so helpless,” while portions of the emergency call were played. Kovach then stated, “This is the sound of someone that was dying.” Fletcher shared her perspective, saying, “At one point, he just got [a] clammy feel to him, he turned this gray-green color, and I feel in my heart that I feel like we lost him for a second. He closed his eyes. And I just tried to keep him awake… I really feel he did pass away for a couple of seconds. I really do.”

Kovach also expressed concern over the “amount of blood” Renner was losing and mentioned, “And then he was – he was just in such pain. And the sounds that were coming out of him – and there was so much blood in the snow. And then when I looked at his head, it appeared to me to be cracked wide open. And I could see white, I don’t know if that was his skull … maybe it was just my imagination but that’s what I thought I saw.” Fletcher supported his observations, sharing that she witnessed “a lot of blood coming from [Renner’s] head and just grabbed one of the towels… It was still folded and just applied pressure. I could tell he was really struggling to breathe.” Fortunately, Renner seems to have made a remarkable recovery.