With a number of fake pregnancy posts currently doing the rounds on TikTok, Euphoria and Spiderman actor Zendaya has been forced to deny that she and her boyfriend Tom Holland are having a baby. "See now, this is why I stay off Twitter," she posted on her Instagram story. "Just making stuff up for no reason… weekly."
The rumours originated from a series of satirical videos, which feature mocked-up social media posts, pregnant mirror selfies, and ultrasound scans by Zendaya, supposedly announcing that she was having a child with her co-star and partner Holland. Many of the original prank videos later cut to footage of Kris Jenner gleefully dancing to “Lady Marmalade” in a sequinned tux, with the caption “you just got Krissed.” For the uninitiated, “getting Krissed” is a kind of hoax meme similar to rickrolling — the practice of tricking unsuspecting people with fake stories or web links that actually lead to Rick Astley’s music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Later, the same videos made their way over to Twitter – and when a number of users started missing the joke, the “pregnancy announcement” circulated as an earnest update, and after hearing second-hand without any context, fans began congratulating the couple. Soon enough, Zendaya’s name was trending on both platforms, leading the Dune star to directly address it.
“Anyway, back to filming Challengers,” Zendaya wrote, after setting the record straight. The Californian actor is currently filming in Boston, and is set to star opposite Mike Faist and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor in the upcoming sports rom-com, directed by Call Me By Your Name’s Luca Guadagnino.
According to Variety, Challengers “centers on the competitive world of pro tennis, in which player-turned-coach Tashi (Zendaya) has transformed her husband Art (Faist) into a Grand Slam champion. After a losing streak, Tashi enters him into a “Challenger” event — the lowest pro tournament level — where he must face off against Patrick (O’Connor), Tashi’s former boyfriend and his former best friend.” Game, set, match!
