Actor Steve Buscemi was attacked on the streets of New York City and hospitalized, as social media users claimed in August 2026.
Reports that Buscemi was assaulted and briefly hospitalized in New York City were true, but the incident occurred in May 2024 — not August 2026 when the story recirculated on social media.
A rumor that actor Steve Buscemi, best known for his roles in “Boardwalk Empire” and “Fargo,” was attacked and hospitalized in New York City circulated online in August 2026.
People on social media posted images of the actor along with alleged details of the incident. One post on X read, “While walking through Midtown Manhattan, Steve Buscemi was suddenly assaulted by a stranger in what his representative described as a random, unprovoked attack.”
The rumor circulated shortly after Buscemi was announced to be joining the cast of Apple TV’s “Murderbot.”
(@oniichanph on X)
In sum, the claim was true, but the incident occurred on May 8, 2024. The claims circulating in August 2026 were referring to that 2-year-old event, citing it as though it were recent news.
The New York Post first reported the attack on May 12 of that year, stating that Buscemi “was strolling through Kips Bay last week when a brute walked up and struck the ‘Boardwalk Empire’ star in a broad-daylight attack.”
According to the report, Buscemi “suffered swelling to his face and left eye” and was taken to the hospital.
The Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, the BBC, CBS News, CNN, Rolling Stone, The Guardian and other mainstream news outlets reported at the time on the attack and its aftermath, including the apprehension of a suspect days later.
Clifton Williams later pleaded guilty to assaulting Buscemi and another person he attacked the same day. He was sentenced to five years of probation, according to the New York Post.
Multiple outlets published a statement from Buscemi’s publicist, who said at the time, “Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city. He is ok and appreciates everyone’s well wishes.”
Snopes reached out to the publicist to confirm the 2024 reports accurately reported their statement and that Buscemi was not hospitalized as of this writing. We will update this piece if we hear back.
It appeared the claim began circulating in August 2026 after footage of the attack resurfaced on X, which led to a series of posts by social media pages reporting the incident without any mention of a date.
For instance, one such post originated from the popular Facebook page Deadpool Fans, which was operated by a website called We Got This Covered, an outlet known for clickbait-heavy content intended to drive engagement.
Their post included a photo of Buscemi along with post text that read:
Steve Buscemi received medical treatment for bruising, swelling, and bleeding to his left eye after a stranger suddenly punched him in an unprovoked attack in Midtown Manhattan.
Representatives for the Fargo actor confirmed he was treated at a local hospital and is recovering safely at home while law enforcement investigates the incident.
A community note was included on this post, pointing out that the incident occurred in 2024.
A search of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo for news of Buscemi being hospitalized in 2026 returned no relevant results from credible media outlets.
In 2001, ABC News reported Buscemi was hospitalized after being stabbed in a bar scuffle while filming a movie in Wilmington, North Carolina. The report said Buscemi “was stabbed above the eye and in the jaw, throat, and arm” but treated at the emergency room and released.
