Michael Loccisano/Getty Coby Cotton, Cody Jones, Tyler Toney, Garrett Hilbert and Cory Cotton of Dude Perfect attend the 2021 ESPY Awards at Rooftop At Pier 17 on July 10, 2021 in New York City.
Garrett Hilbert of Dude Perfect confirmed on Instagram he is alive and “all good” after a death hoax about the social media star went viral. Hilbert responded to a comment from a fan on his most recent Instagram photo after he was asked if he was OK. Hilbert was trending on Google and social media as fans of the comedy and sports group worried about whether he had died.
In his comment on September 12, 2021, confirming he was not dead, Hilbert wrote, “All good here! The aggies football team gave me a pretty good scare last night though! Hope to see y’all on tour!” Hilbert was referencing the Texas A&M football team, which won a close game against Colorado on Saturday. Hilbert started Dude Perfect in 2009 with Cory Cotton, Coby Cotton, Cody Jones and Tyler Toney, who were his roommates at Texas A&M.
The 34-year-old Hilbert is a Texas native. He has been married to Kristen Hilbert since 2011 and has three children, two sons, Owen Hilbert, Lincoln Hilbert and a daughter, Iris Hilbert. Dude Perfect has more than 55 million followers on YouTube and Hilbert himself has 1 million followers on Instagram. The group posts videos of trick shots, stunts and competitions.
Rumors About Garrett Hilbert’s Health & Claims That He Was Dead Began Spreading on Social Media on September 11, 2021
Social media rumors about Garret Hilbert began to spread on Saturday, September 11, 2021, but there were no official reports about his health. Hilbert had not posted on Instagram or Twitter for several weeks, but he did like a post on Twitter on September 11. He then confirmed there was nothing wrong in the September 12 comment on his Instagram.
It’s not clear where the rumors began. An Instagram account named @cas_johnson05 posted a photo of Hilbert, tagging his account and writing, “R.I.P to Garrett Hilbert one of the original 5 dude perfect members. Garrett was found dead after a fatal car crash. He will be missed by the millions of fans and friends but missed most by the other 4 members of dude perfect, his wife, and his 2 sons and his daughter.” Commenters on his post have since responded saying he had posted false information.
A Twitter user shared a screenshot of a post falsely claiming Hilbert had died in a truck crash. Another Twitter user tweeted, “Yeah, I’m fairly certain this Garrett Hilbert death thing is a hoax.”
Dude Perfect Is Set to Begin a Tour on September 23
As Hilbert mentioned in his Instagram comment, he and his friends in Dude Perfect are about to start a nationwide tour of performances. According to the group’s website, the tour starts on September 23 in Orlando. They will be appearing in several cities from then until November 7, 2021. They also have two tour dates in Ontario, Canada, in Toronto and Ottawa, scheduled for June 2022.
Dude Perfect said in a press release about the tour, “We’re so pumped to get back out on the road and travel around the country to see our fans LIVE in their city! Our 2019 tour was a massive success and we’ve been working hard to create a ton of new content and surprises for our fans this year. We can’t wait to bring the energy and see everyone in person this fall!”
According to their YouTube channel, the group began with a simple challenge among friends while they were students together at Texas A&M, “If I make this shot, you owe me lunch.” That led to international fame as trick-shot artists and entertainers.
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