Hey Twitter, Carl Reiner Is Not Dead

The 95-year-old comedian’s open letter to Justice Anthony Kennedy makes him a instant Twitter trend

Carl Reiner
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There’s no need to panic, Carl Reiner. He’s alive, well and just being politically vocal.

When the 95-year-old comedian’s name started trending on social media Friday afternoon, Twitter went berserk, fearing the worst. But rest assured, Reiner is not dead. Via an op-ed in The New York Times, he was merely reaching out to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to wish him an early happy 81st birthday … and to plead with him not to retire.

“As someone who has almost a decade and a half on you, I can tell you this: It may well be that the best part of your career has just begun,” Reiner wrote. “As a nonagenarian who has just completed the most prolific, productive five years of my life, I feel it incumbent upon me to urge a hearty octogenarian such as yourself not to put your feet up on the ottoman just yet. You have important and fulfilling work ahead of you.”

Reiner went on to acknowledge that “problems” arise as one gets older, but called upon Kennedy to continue to serve.

“How would you feel, while reading your newspaper, seeing a headline that read ‘Roe v. Wade Overturned’? Do you see how this could ruin a good meal? A good life? A great country?” Reiner asked.

Reiner’s open letter was promoted on social media and his name began to trend. There you have it. But just the site of his trending name caused a freak out — followed by a universal sigh of relief.

Here are just a few of the posts to illustrate our point:

Rosemary Rossi

Rosemary joined TheWrap in 2016 after more than two decades covering entertainment for American Media and Bauer Publishing as West Coast Editor and as the Hollywood Correspondent for Australia’s Horowitz Graham Publishing. In addition, she reviewed films and television, sized up trends and penned a weekly tongue-in-cheek column called “Hollywood’s Worst Ideas This Week” for…

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