Not even Pixar can escape the clutches of fake news.

Nemo is actually dead, the mum from Inside Out is a con artist, and A Bug’s Life takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland long after humanity has wiped itself out. The world wide web is absolutely packed with intricate Pixar fan theories, most of which are also extremely distressing. But few are as grim as the one that went viral late last week, about the whereabouts of Andy’s dad in Toy Story.

The theory emerged via a YouTube video published by the Super Carlin Brothers featuring an interview with Mike Mozart, a toy collector who worked as a consultant on the original Toy Story back in the early ‘90s. According to Mozart, he was told by the film’s co-writer Joe Ranft that the reason Andy’s father isn’t around in any of the movies is because…he’s dead.

Specifically, he died from post-polio syndrome after contracting the disease as a child. The theory also states that Woody, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head were originally his, and that he passed them down to his son on his deathbed.

So yeah, not exactly the cheeriest of origin stories, although given Pixar’s track record it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

Ranft died in a car accident back in 2005, so he’s unable to confirm or refute Mozart’s claims. For what it’s worth though, Andrew Stanton, who collaborated on all three Toy Story films, has since tweeted that the theory is “complete and utter fake news”.

Complete and utter fake news. Everyone go back to your homes. Nothing to see here, folks. #Iwasthere https://t.co/06j37YKKt2 — andrew stanton (@andrewstanton) June 24, 2017

Still, if you feel like diving down a very depressing rabbit hole, here’s the YouTube video that kicked off the whole thing.