Actor Alicia Silverstone left TikTok “totally buggin'” (as her Clueless character Cher Horowitz would surely have put it) after posting a video eating what turned out to be a toxic fruit from a stranger’s garden last week. But was she in any real danger?
Silverstone filmed the video of her trying several bites of the fruit on a street in London and posted it on August 19.
“Okay, I’ve discovered something that I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help,” she said in the video.
“I just bit into it because I was on the street, and we were discussing whether this was a tomato or not. It’s definitely not, because look at these leaves.”
She went on to pick another small red orb and bite it, saying: “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat this—but it’s almost like a pepper? Does anyone know what this is?”
The Claim
The fruit was quickly identified as Jerusalem cherry—otherwise known as winter cherry or Solanumpseudocapsicum—by concerned commenters who warned the actor that what she had eaten was poisonous.
“Jerusalem cherry… They are poisonous,” said one viewer, in a comment that went on to receive 33.2 thousand likes.
“WOMAN! UPDATE US. ARE YOU ALIVE AND WELL!?!” asked another, while someone else wrote: “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.”
In the days that followed, articles were written repeating the belief that Jerusalem cherries are poisonous or toxic.
A tweet by @joshcharles_21 that has been viewed 11.6 million times referred to the plant as “a very poisonous form of deadly nightshade,” later tweeting “girl are you alive?”
The Facts
Viral foraging expert Alexis Nikole—who sometimes calls herself the black forager—has since made a video clarifying that Silverstone was never in danger from the two small bites she took of the Jerusalem cherries.
“They are mildly—mildly—toxic,” she said on TikTok. “If she ate, like, seven of them, maybe she had a tummy ache, maybe she got the poops. But otherwise, homegirl’s fine.”
Regarding the viral tweet, Nikole clarified that deadly nightshade and Jerusalem cherry are different plants, both part of the nightshade family, along with potatoes.
“Don’t eat plants that don’t belong to you,” she concluded. “Every nightshade isn’t deadly. Winter cherry slash Jerusalem cherry will not kill you, and don’t be a d*** on the internet.”
On August 21, Silverstone took to Instagram to update everybody in a caption that she was “alive and well,” adding: “Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow.”
Forager and nutritional therapist Belinda Blake confirmed to Newsweek that Jerusalem cherry was toxic but relatively harmless in small amounts.
“Jerusalem cherry is a member of the Solanaceae or nightshade family,” said Blake. “Whilst the family contains some edible plants, such as tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, bell peppers and chilis, it also contains some very toxic ones too.
“The Jerusalem cherry fruit looks a bit like a chili (capsicum) or small cherry tomato and so might be easily mistaken for an edible fruit.”
Blake explained that deadly nightshade—also called Atropa belladonna—contains toxic alkaloids which can lead to symptoms like restlessness, confusion, coma and death.
“Jerusalem cherry contains a similar alkaloid which has toxic effects on the body,” she said. “Whilst it is most likely to mainly cause gastrointestinal problems like abdominal pain and diarrhea, it can also affect the nervous system, causing symptoms like confusion and hallucinations, a slowed pulse rate and slowed breathing.
“Gastric symptoms might be delayed and experienced some eight to 10 hours after consuming the fruit, which might prevent you from initially suspecting the fruit as a trigger.
“A bite or two is most likely to cause gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting)…but is unlikely to cause serious harm in an adult.”
Blake advised the public not to follow in Silverstone’s footsteps.
“If you are not 100 percent sure of what a plant or fruit is, stay away and certainly do not eat it,” she said. “Do your research… or join an experienced forager and learn how to explore your environment safely.”
The Ruling
Misleading Material.
Jerusalem cherry is mildly toxic, but two bites were unlikely to cause serious harm.
FACT CHECK BY Hatty Willmoth
