Stephen Hawking’s death prompted Twitter reactions from many people in the science and tech communities, as well as celebrities. But actress (and Scientologist) Kirstie Alley wins for the weirdest (and possibly worse) response to finding out that someone—especially a brilliant physicist—has just died. On Wednesday morning, she tweeted a photo of Hawking along with the caption: “You had a good go at it..thanks for your input.”
https://twitter.com/kirstiealley/status/973864349470199808
“Thanks for your input”? Yes, that’s what she said.
It doesn’t seem like Alley’s tweet was intentionally mean—she later tweeted that Hawking was “one of the top 3 funniest people on the planet”—but the internet saw it differently.
Many thought the tweet was accidentally hilarious, while others saw it as a savage comment about someone who just passed away.
I've been thinking about it a lot and I'm pretty confident this is the funniest thing anyone has ever said about someone who just died https://t.co/JrbyrtzIF8
— Brooks Otterlake (@i_zzzzzz) March 15, 2018
https://twitter.com/LucyXIV/status/974083509118619648
I can’t stop laughing at how stupid this is. https://t.co/4pdtQnmkhk
— @jupinwhm on IG & Bluesky (@jupin) March 14, 2018
and we have a winner for "best stephen hawking obituary" https://t.co/iwutxC2j1P
— David Farrier (@davidfarrier) March 14, 2018
Please put "thanks for your input" on my tombstone https://t.co/YJed3mhcaH
— Genevieve Koski (@GenevieveKoski) March 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/zacharydyke/status/974075890672939008
Kirstie really said goodbye to Stephen Hawking like he was her summer intern? Wild. https://t.co/PHcyMohUxg
— rebkah howard (@pink_funk) March 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/LP_Lunacy/status/974297065944690689
Alley now has several requests to write future eulogies.
When I die please have Kirstie Alley do my eulogy https://t.co/FixFCWXsb7
— Seal (ceilck@mastodon.online) (@askceil) March 15, 2018
https://twitter.com/JohnnyOatley/status/974077459401400320
https://twitter.com/danielneumann64/status/974106971891671040
https://twitter.com/lib_crusher/status/974066052152913920
I'm definitely getting Kirstie to write my epitaph https://t.co/dW0FCdeIP9
— Mel Campbell (@incrediblemelk) March 15, 2018
As for Alley, when she dies, she said she wishes to have her headstone read: “If you have the gas money I have the car.”
Although I will be cremated I want my headstone to read: If you have the gas money I have the car https://t.co/DDuFERFoHq
— Kirstie Alley (@kirstiealley) March 14, 2018