William Shatner rejects rumours about his health: 'I'm fit as a fiddle'

William Shatner has urged fans to ignore "fake news stories" about his health.

Last week, an AI-generated post circulated on social media that claimed the Star Trek icon had Stage 4 brain cancer and was critically ill.

However, William took to Instagram on Thursday to post a recent photo of himself snapped by his daughter, Lisabeth Shatner, in which he appears happy and healthy.

"My Daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer. She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I'm not ill," he wrote in the caption. "The people who are ill are those that are spreading these ridiculous stories. I'm fit as a fiddle. You don't have to worry. This is getting insane."

In addition, William warned fans not to interact with posts that aren't from one of his official social media accounts.

He noted that he decided to wait until 1 April, or April Fools' Day, had passed to share the message to avoid causing any confusion.

"While (social media) can be a wonderful tool in the right hands; it can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands. If you see a bizarre story about me; unless you see it posted on one of my verified accounts, take it with a grain of salt," the Hollywood legend added in a Facebook message.

William turned 95 on 22 March.

And in his typical humour, the Boston Legal star posted a photo showing him smoking a cigar.

"I've learned two things: Never waste a good cigar. Never trust anyone who says you should 'act your age,'" he declared.