WASHINGTON — Fitness guru Richard Simmons is apologizing after a cryptic post on social media made some of his fans think he was dying.
It all began Monday morning when Simmons shared a series of posts on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, that discussed how he, along with everyone else in the world, was "dying." He went on to encourage people to live life to the fullest every single day.
"I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am ….dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death," Simmons wrote initially.
As concerns grew, Simmons clarified hours later that he was, in fact, not dying and apologized for any "confusion" he may have caused earlier in the day.
"Sorry many of you have gotten upset about my message today. Even the press has gotten in touch with me. I am not dying," Simmons said. "It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have. Sorry for this confusion."
Simmons has been out of the public spotlight since 2014, an absence which inspired the hit 2017 podcast “Missing Richard Simmons.” Earlier this year, Simmons spoke out against a planned biopic about him starring Pauly Shore.
A spokesperson for the 75-year-old confirmed to CNN on Monday that Simmons is "very healthy and happy. The sole purpose of the post was meant to be inspirational."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
