As if! Alicia Silverstone blithely bit into a toxic berry and lived to tell about it.
The “Clueless” star sparked concern this week after she nibbled on the fruit during a trip to England, even though she knew it wasn’t a run-of-the-mill cherry tomato.
“OK, I’ve discovered something that I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help,” the 47-year-old actor said Monday in a video posted on TikTok and Instagram, adding that she had found the brightly colored berry on a sidewalk. “I just bit into it because it was on the street and we are discussing whether it is a tomato or not.”
The “Blast From the Past” and “Excess Baggage” star then dropped the orange-hued berry, adding that it was “definitely not” a tomato because of the leaves growing from the plant — a bush that was partially behind a gate. “So what the heck is this? Because when you open it up it looks like that [shows white seeds] 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?”
Silverstone’s followers agreed — she wasn’t supposed to eat it — and identified the plant as the mildly poisonous Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum). The plant is part of the black nightshade family and is harmful if eaten, especially its unripened berries or leaves, and can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, trembling, paralysis, coma or even death.
“Jerusalem Cherry – toxic,” a TikTok user said, helping Silverstone identify the plant.
Others took issue with her audacity.
“That’s called a ‘it’s not yours. You shouldn’t touch it,’” one commenter wrote.
“Imagine looking into your front yard and seeing Alicia Silverstone munching your garden,” another 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,” another said.
Noting fans’ concern about her well being, Silverstone returned to the platforms nearly 24 hours later with an update and to reassure followers that she had lived to tell the tale.
“Alive and well! Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow,” she wrote, referring to a racy “Clueless” quip and posting an old glamour shot. The comments filled up with sighs of relief, jokes based on her 1995 comedy and gentle chiding of the vegan actor.
“Captain of the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief is marked SAFE!” follower Ryan Scott wrote on Instagram. Scott had dedicated a post on his grid to Silverstone’s well-being, previously writing, “It’s been 24 hours since Alicia Silverstone ate a poisonous fruit in London and no one has heard from her since. UGH, AS IF!”
“Brilliant response!” wrote another.
“I came here for this confirmation. Glad you’re healthy!” another user said.
But another person felt the need to go all-caps: “For someone so careful about what she eats you broke rule number one, which is NEVER EAT SOMETHING GROWING THAT YOU DONT KNOW WHAT IT IS!!”
