2024-08-22 02:45:01
Did you think a poisonous fruit could take down Alicia Silverstone? As if!
On Aug. 20, the “Clueless” star posted a TikTok video of herself biting into something that fans later identified as a potentially dangerous food.
In the video, the actor appeared on a street in England and held up a small orange fruit that looked similar to a cherry tomato.
“OK, I’ve discovered something that I can’t figure out what it is, and I need your help. I just bit into it because it was on the street and we were discussing whether this was a tomato or not,” she said, accidentally dropping the item on the ground.
The 47-year-old then panned the camera over to the outside garden where she found the fruit and said she wasn’t sure what it was.
“It’s definitely not (a tomato) because look at these leaves,” she said.
Silverstone then implored her fans to help her figure out what she had bitten into, saying she was in England.
“So, what the heck is this? Because when you open it up, it looks like that,” she said and showed the fruit on the ground. “And if I bite it — I don’t think you’re supposed to eat this — but it’s almost like a pepper? Does anyone know what this is?”
Social media users were quick to flood the comments with reactions.
“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 wrote.
Another commented, “Girl! berries are either great or freaking poisonous! Don’t eat rando bush-things.”
Another shared the following reaction: “Imagine looking into your front yard and seeing Alicia Silverstone munching your garden.”
What was Silverstone eating?
Many TikTok users identified the food as a Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum).
“Jerusalem Cherry — toxic,” one wrote. Another commented, “I’m British. Dont eat it.”
Per the National Library of Medicine, the Jerusalem cherry is a plant that’s a member of the same family as a black nightshade.
“It has small, round, red and orange fruit. Jerusalem cherry poisoning occurs when someone eats pieces of this plant,” the website reads.
Solanocapsine is the poisonous ingredient in Jerusalem cherries. Eating the plant can cause gastrointestinal issues such as abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea/vomiting. It can also affect the central nervous system and result in hallucinations, headache, delirium, shock and paralysis.
In other words: You shouldn’t eat it.
Silverstone shared a follow-up post to let fans know she was OK
After her fans expressed their concern, Silverstone posted a follow-up message letting everyone know she was OK.
“Alive and well! Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow 😉😛,” she captioned the post.
Instagram users were glad to hear that she was safe, and many took to the comments to react.
“Queen I’m glad you’re alive,” one wrote, while another commented, “Awww I was worried a bit there.”
One social media user suggested that the star is now “ready for ‘Naked and Afraid’” given her apparent lack of fear for eating unknown foods.
Another Instagram user joked, “I’ve been checking all day for a sign of life!”
