There’s a whole lotta head shakin’ goin’ on after it was falsely reported that Jerry Lee Lewis had died.
On Oct. 26, the Internet was whipped up in a frenzy after TMZ published an article purporting the death of the music legend. But, as it turned out, it was all a hoax.
“He’s alive,” a spokesperson for Lewis’ management company told NBC News in response to the bogus report. “TMZ reported erroneously off of a bulls–t anonymous tip.”
Since the online gaffe, TMZ deleted its original report and published a retraction. “Jerry Lee Lewis is not dead … as we previously reported,” the outlet’s new article read. “Earlier today we were told by someone claiming to be Lewis’ rep that he had passed. That turned out not to be the case. TMZ regrets the error.”
The correction comes days after an update posted to Lewis’ Instagram said that the musician was “too ill with the flu to attend” celebrations of his recent induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Instead, according to the post, Lewis chose close friend Kris Kristofferson to accept the honor on his behalf.
