No, Keanu Reeves Did Not Donate 70 Percent of His 'Matrix' Salary to Charity

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Just when you think Keanu Reeves can't get any nicer, the actor was today rumored to have donated most of his earnings from the 1999 film The Matrix to cancer research.

The beloved Neo star has consistently maintained his Hollywood nice guy persona and this rumor has proven to be the cherry on top for fans who are today heaping praise on the actor.

According to LadBible, Reeves donated approximately $31.5 million of his earnings from the blockbuster to organizations researching leukemia, a type of blood cancer. This sum was said to be around 70 percent of the $45million earnings he took home in total for the sci-fi hit.

However, Newsweek can confirm that this is in fact just a rumor and that Reeves donated no such portion of his Matrix earnings in this way.

LadBible has since removed the story from its website, though it was widely reported by multiple outlets on Wednesday.

"The story is not true, Keanu Reeves did not donate 70 percent of his salary to charity," his publicist confirmed.

Despite this rumor turning out to be false, Reeves has been dedicated to cancer research since the '90s as his younger sister Kim battled the disease at around the time the first film came out, having been diagnosed in 1991.

Reeves also set up his own non-profit organization to raise money for cancer research.

"I have a private foundation that's been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children's hospitals and cancer research," Reeves told the Ladies Home Journal in 2009.

"I don't like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does."

Before the rumor was debunked, fans of the 57-year-old received praise on social media.

"Just in case you didn't already love him enough, Keanu Reeves donated 70% of his 'Matrix' salary to cancer research," tweeted author Giles Paley-Phillips.

While oncologist Christina Coughlin tweeted: "Keanu Reeves has been a long time supporter of cancer research to help his sister. This is very cool, his donation was $31.5M."

Another tweet reads: "One more reason to absolutely love this guy...one of the most beloved actors, and proves yet again it's what you do when no one is looking that matters most."

"I can't say enough of what a great person Keanu Reeves is," said another.

Despite being known for his kindness, Reeves is also famously the subject of the well-known Sad Keanu meme.

However, the Point Break star clarified recently that he was not in fact sad in the famous photograph, but just simply enjoying some lunch on a bench.

"I'm just eating a sandwich, man!" he said during an appearance on The Late Show last month, telling host Stephen Colbert that he was just "hungry" when the photo was snapped.

The topic came up when Colbert asked about Reeves' recent comic book BRZRKR and if a drawing from it was inspired by the meme.

"So you're not actually sad in Sad Keanu?" Colbert asked his guest.

"I was thinking. I had some stuff going on," Reeves responded, adding: "I was hungry."

Keanu Reeves
Canadian actor Keanu Reeves arrives for the 2019 LACMA Art+Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles on November 2, 2019. Jean-Baptiste LACROIX/AFP via Getty Images