REPRESENTATIVES for troubled actor Mel Gibson have denied the star has died, after rumours abounded on Twitter that the star had died.

The Lethal Weapon star, 54, became a Twitter trending topic earlier today when tweets reporting the star’s premature demise began to accumulate significant retweets.

Even a Wikipedia article reporting the star’s death in his apartment was created, though the obviously hoax piece reported the star’s age as 32 – meaning he would have been nine years old when starring in Lethal Weapon.

Though the Wikipedia article was soon deleted, the rumours persisted – and only subsided when Hollywood reporters contacted the star’s agents to ensure he was still alive.

One reporter tweeted:

MEL GIBSON IS NOT DEAD! Just spoke to his rep! HOLLYSCOOP EXCLUSIVE @hollyscoop #melgibsonisnotdead

The star has become a tabloid fixture in recent weeks with Hollywood gossip sites posting audio clips of the star unleashing racist rants and bullying his former Russian girlfriend.

Previous victims of Twitter death rumours include actor Jeff Goldblum, whose name has become a staple of such rumours whenever other celebrity deaths have taken place.

One such rumour – which coincided with the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett – gained creedance when it appeared on Australian TV.