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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Maira Butt

Clueless star Alicia Silverstone says she is alive after biting poisonous berry

Instagram/AliciaSilverstone

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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Clueless star Alicia Silverstone has reassured fans she is “alive and well” after she filmed herself eating a poisonous berry during a visit to London.

The 47-year-old actor had shared a video on TikTok on Monday (19 August) in which she held up an orange berry with seeds inside it. She was seen biting into the fruit and appearing confused by what it was, before fans flocked to social media to warn that it was a “very poisonous form of deadly nightshade”.

Silverstone was not heard from on social media for hours after the posting, prompting fans to speculate that she could have succumbed to the poison. Social media users begged for an update as they said “You’re going to need to let us know you’re OK. It’s been five hours” and “Woman! Update us! Are you alive and well?”.

On Tuesday (20 August) the star shared a picture of herself on a photoshoot with the caption: “Alive and well! Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow.” She added a winking emoji.

Supporters shared their relief as they wrote: “Queen I’m glad you’re alive” and “I came here for this confirmation. Glad you’re healthy!”

The original post showed the actor, who is best known for playing Cher Horowitz in Nineties classic Clueless, walking down a street in England and plucking an orange berry from a bush in someone’s front garden to taste it.

“OK, I’ve discovered something that I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help,” she told her viewers.

“I just bit into it because it was on the street, and we were discussing whether it was a tomato or not,” she continued, before filming the gated garden where she got the fruit from.

(Instagram/AliciaSilverstone)

Silverstone also questioned the type of leaves in the plant, which had green, red, and orange berries hanging from it.

“So what the heck is this?” the star added, before showing the fruit opened up on the street, with seeds popping out of it.

She once again bit into the fruit and showed off the inside of it for the camera. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat this,” she admitted. “But it’s almost like a pepper. Does anyone know what this is? I don’t know what it is.”

The actor emphasised her confusion in the caption, writing: “What the heck is this!? I’m in England and can’t figure it out.”

The TikTok video quickly went viral, with more than 1.3 million views on her page and over 10 million views where it was reposted on Twitter. In the comments, multiple people claimed that the fruit she was eating was a Jerusalem cherry, which is poisonous.

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