When fans got onto Twitter and found #RipSebastianStan trending, they were alarmed, since the hashtag had prompted false claims of the actor’s death. Sebastian Stan is a Romanian-American actor who is most known for portraying Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Stan and Anthony Mackie recently made headlines for their outstanding performances in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. But Stan didn’t have much time to celebrate the series’ launch because he was immediately cast in Pam & Tommy.

On Saturday, May 29, the actor became a Twitter trend when multiple fans used the hashtag #RipSebastianStan in their messages. It’s unclear who initiated the trend, but it began the day after he was photographed with co-star Lily James while filming his new Hulu TV series, ‘Pam & Tommy.’

The processes of cancel culture are odd to say the least, since all it takes is one person with a vendetta and a sizable social media following to get the ball rolling, especially when current internet opinion operates on the ‘guilty until proven innocent’ principle.

The trend appears to have started as a poor attempt to ‘cancel’ Stan.

This came only a day after he was seen with Lily James wearing black Converse and his dyed-black hair in a slicked-back style, as the two are due to play Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in the upcoming TV series.

Even stars who are almost wholly wholesome in the eyes of the broad public have been targeted on occasion, albeit the incident is quickly forgotten. When John Krasinski was in the crosshairs last year, the internet rallied to his defense, and Elizabeth Olsen was labeled a racist, though she wouldn’t have known because she stayed away from social media after so-called “fans” essentially bullied her offline by flooding her accounts with negative comments after she didn’t post a public tribute to Chadwick Boseman following his death.

“#RipSebastianStan stan the most unproblematic mcu actor,” one Twitter user wrote.

One person slammed Stan and wrote: “to all the people clicking this thinking sebastian stan is d-word: sebastian himself may be fine but his moral compass, common sense, and career sure aren’t #ripsebastianstan.” And one said, “UMMM YALL BITCHES SICK AS HELL I THOUGHT MY BABY REALLY DIED I HATE YALL FRRRRRRR #ripsebastianstan.” Along with a gif, one wrote, “I THOUGHT SEBASTIAN STAN DIED WHY WOULD Y’ALL EVER THINK TO PLAY LIKE THAT #ripsebastianstan”

While one individual noted, “To make up and share false quotes just to spread hate about a man who took the time out of an exhausting filming schedule to speak with university students is disgusting and morally wrong. I want to set this straight while I see #RipSebastianStan is trending.” While one angry person wrote, “Y’all- tweeting shit like this AINT FUNNY. I DEADASS THOUGHT SEBASTIAN STAN WAS DEAD. DONT DO THAT #ripsebastianstan”

Another tweeted in his defense: “To make up and share false quotes just to spread hate about a man who took the time out of an exhausting filming schedule to speak with university students is disgusting and morally wrong. I want to set this straight while I see #RipSebastianStan is trending.”

The most plausible explanation suggested by users for the hashtag was that they were attempting to cancel Stan by resurrecting an old, offensive I, Tonya joke that he had made (and apologized for), but instead gave the mistaken impression that he had died. Whatever the origins, the result was a frenetic burst of Tweets in which individuals conveyed their astonishment and relief, as well as their amusing reactions to the trend.