Social media has put out an APB on actress Alicia Silverstone. The “Clueless” movie star has fans saying she’s living up to her hit film’s name after eating a piece of food some believe is poisonous.
The alarm comes as people have been waiting hours to see her re-emerge on social media to confirm nothing has happened after she munched on the mystery fruit while gallivanting down the streets of London.
On Aug. 19, Silverstone, 47, posted a video of herself tasting the small morsel on TikTok, asking her followers to help identify whatever she is eating.
“Okay, I’ve discovered something and I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help,” she says in the 38-second clip to her followers.
“I just bit into it because I was on the street, and we were discussing whether this was a tomato or not,” the San Francisco native continued turning her camera to the plant. “It’s definitely not because look at these leaves. Those are the leaves.”
The Golden Globe-nominated actress plucked the fruit from a bush located behind a wrought-iron gate she saw while walking in the English city.
Silverstone then asked, “So what the heck is this? Because when you open it up, it looks like that,” as she pans to the ground after accidentally dropping one.
She then rationalizes that she probably shouldn’t eat it but does anyway, taking a small bite and comparing the taste to a pepper.
Still clueless … she asks, “Does anyone know what this is? I don’t know what it is. I need someone to tell me. I’m in England. OK, thank you.”
While some fans on her TikTok page and X platform scrambled to identify the plant, guessing it could be a poisonous Jerusalem cherry or a “Pepper Tree,” others questioned why she was eating it in the first place.
“Eating random stuff from bushes when you don’t know what it is, is a level of non-anxiety that I can only aspire to,” one person sarcastically wrote. Another joked, “She’s clearly clueless.”
Others on social media expressed concerns for her well-being.
More joined in with their alarming news, writing, “Definitely going to need an update, it can be fatal.”
Someone else wrote on X, “It’s already 9pm in England, a whole day has gone by with no updates on Alicia Silverstone after she ate a poisonous item from behind the fence of someone’s front garden in London.”
It’s already 9pm in England, a whole day has gone by with no updates on Alicia Silverstone after she ate a poisonous item from behind the fence of someone’s front garden in London https://t.co/hxESjMEjx0
— Mara Webster 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@Mara_Webster) August 20, 2024
One social media the person who posted the clip acted as an uncertified botanist and identified the plant as indeed a Jerusalem cherry, providing a picture and detailed reference that said, “if consumed, the berries are fatal to human beings and pets.”
The Northern New England Poison Center also says the plant is “harmful to eat.”
According to NNEPC, consuming a small quantity of berries or leaves may cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, while ingesting a larger amount could lead to drowsiness, hallucinations, or heart rate issues.
The Children’s Physicians Medical Group further noted that the plant could be toxic to children and animals.
“The primary poison is the alkaloid solanocapsine, which can cause gastric upset and vomiting in people but generally is not life-threatening,” the website informs. “However, the fruits are extremely toxic to dogs, cats, and some birds. The fruit resembles a cherry tomato, both in appearance and flavor, so kids and pets may eat enough to cause illness, or in the case of pets, even death.”
These sources do not corroborate the X user’s comments about the plant being deadly.
The person who posted stated that he is actually a journalist and said that he reached out to Silverstone’s representatives for an update.
“As a hard-hitting journalist, I’ve reached out to her reps to find out if she’s still alive. Can’t wait for my Pulitzer,” he joked, adding that he has heard “nothing” from her contacts.
Any update yet? 😆😭😭
— Penelope 🪷 Purple Pants (@jenneccentric) August 20, 2024
Fortunately for fans, Alicia Silverstone eventually reappeared on social media with an update for fans. On Aug. 20 around 10PM local time in London, Silverstone posted a tweet that read, “Alive and well! Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow.”