EXCLUSIVE
Lionel Richie‘s only son, model Miles Brockman Richie, had a run-in with cops at a U.K. airport after allegedly claiming he had a bomb and then slugging a security guard … TMZ has learned.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police in London tell us a 24-year-old man ...
Lionel Richie Son Miles Issued "Caution" in U.K. For Airport Bomb Hoax
Showing posts with label Hoax. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hoax. Show all posts
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Lionel Richie Son Miles Issued "Caution" in U.K. For Airport Bomb Hoax
Monday, August 6, 2018
Michael J. Fox Dead? Morbid Hoax Stuns Social Media
If you spent any time on Facebook or Twitter yesterday, then you might have encountered reports of the passing of actor Michael J. Fox.
The rumor was so pervasive that Fox’s name quickly became a worldwide trending topic.
Fortunately, fans can breathe easy, as Fox is not dead, but is instead the latest victim of an obnoxious celebrity death hoax.
Reps for Fox have confirmed that the 57-year-old actor is alive and well, and was just as confused about the apparent prank as anyone else.
Usually, the origin of such nonsense remains mysterious, but this time it looks as though the culprit has been identified.
According to the internet’s sharpest sleuths, news of Fox’s passing originated on a website that was designed to trick users into thinking they had visited Yahoo! News.
A report at the top of the site’s homepage reads as follows:
“On August 2, Michael J. Fox arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was self-admitted with complications attributed to Parkinson’s Disease. According to Chief Coroner Jonathan Lucas M.D., Fox had developed pneumonia, a common problem occurring in Parkinson’s sufferers in the later stages of the disease.”
“Tragically, Fox died at 11:24 this morning. Doctors confirmed Fox passed away peacefully and was surrounded by friends and family.”
While it’s true that Fox has been battling Parkinson’s Disease for much of his life, the rest of the report is a complete fabrication.
It seems that the hoax spread further and faster than most due to the fact that Fox has been silent on social media in recent weeks.
The photo above, which Fox tweeted on June 1 in support of gun violence victims, constitutes his most recent social media activity.
“It’s made me stronger,” Fox once said of his diagnosis.
“A million times wiser. And more compassionate, I’ve realized I’m vulnerable, that no matter how many awards I’m given or how big my bank account is, I can be messed with like that.
“The end of the story is you die. We all die. So, accepting that, the issue becomes one of quality of life.”
Hopefully, Fox’s story won’t come to an end for many years.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
William Shatner Eviscerates Facebook Over Death Hoax: I Will Never Die!!
Did you see an article whose title declared that a legendary Star Trek actor had been found dead?
William Shatner is alive and kicking. In fact, Thursday was his birthday — the beloved actor is now 87 years old.
But he’s furious about fake news being spread about him, and demanding that Facebook take action.
You know how, sometimes, social media platforms experience a surge in popularity?
This is not that time for Facebook.
In fact, between new revelations that the data of 50 million users was mined to help the Trump campaign in 2016 and intense scrutiny over Russia using Facebook as a divisive weapon against the U.S. …the social media platform is not enjoying a lot of good press.
And we don’t just mean because Jim Carrey dumped his Facebook stock.
Even Snapchat, which has recently been dismissed by Kylie Jenner and blasted by Rihanna and has been massively devalued as a result, is probably thanking their lucky stars that they’re not Facebook right now.
Now, Facebook has drawn the ire of an acting legend … by sharing a death hoax advertisement.
There is a difference between a clickbait headline, which summarizes an article or poses a question that’s designed to draw a reader’s attention, and a bold-faced lie.
Announcing that a living actor has been found dead is, at best, a hoax in extremely poor taste.
A fan tweeted at William Shatner:
“I thought you might want to know you’re dead.” Accompanying those words was a screencap of a Facebook ad.
The Star Trek actor was not amused.
Shatner quoted the tweet, writing:
“Hey @facebook isn’t this your messenger app? What’s up with you allowing this Acocet Retail Sales ad to pass your muster? Thought you were doing something about this?”
By “doing something about this,” he of course means that Facebook has announced that they’re taking steps to combat the spread of
He got a reply to his tweet:
“Hi, I’m from Facebook. Thanks for letting us know about this. We have removed this ad and Page from Facebook.”
Shatner then quoted that tweet with a message of his own:
“”
“Thank you. I’m not planning on dying so please continue to block those kinds of ads.”
(Honestly, the part about not planning on dying is, as the youths would say, a big mood)
Article titles are designed to be interesting and enticing, but a number of actors are continuously plagued by ads claiming that they’re dead.
Some argue that these titles are all in good fun and have no agenda beyond eliciting clicks.
Others, however, point out that these articles can send fans into a panic and can be extremely hurtful to the still-living stars themselves.
Especially when, like Shatner, they are advanced in years. The fact that this went down on Twitter on the day before his birthday cannot have been fun.
Despite his age, William Shatner has surprised many with his social media savvy.
A few years ago, he began livetweeting The 100, as he considered it the last hope of science fiction fans.
This was before the Syfy channel’s de-rebranding, when they came back with shows like Dark Matter, Killjoys, and The Expanse.
Since then, of course, Star Trek: Discovery has come out, and more and more networks and streaming platforms are realizing that high-quality science fiction television is worth the sometimes hefty price.
Shatner’s legacy lives on. And so does he.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Aaron Hernandez Fiancee Reacts to Star Suicide: "I Thought It Was a Hoax"
The fiancee of Aaron Hernandez has spoken out for the first time since the former football star’s suicide.
In a sit-down with Dr. Phil McGraw that will air next week, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez details what she thought upon first learning Hernandez had killed himself.
And that can be summed up in one word: Shock.
“I thought it was a hoax, that this was some cruel person playing a trick on me,” Hernandez tells of her reaction when she received the phone call that Hernandez was dead.
The ex-New England Patriots tight end was serving a lifetime prison sentence for the 2012 murder of Odin Lloyd when he hanged himself last month.
Shayanna was not the only close confidant of the convicted killer’s who didn’t believe Hernandez would ever do such a thing, as his lawyer initially called for an investigation to determine whether or not Hernandez was killed.
In the past couple weeks, however, grisly new details have emerged.
For example:
- Hernandez used his own blood to draw circular, Jesus-like circles on each of his feet.
- He wrote “John 3:16” in red ink on the walls.
- He used cardboard to make it difficult for guards to enter his cell.
- He poured shampoo on the floor to also make it difficult for these same guards to run to his rescue in case they caught him in the act.
Most damning of all, though, is that Hernandez wrote three suicide notes prior to taking his own life.
One was to his attorney; one was to an alleged gay lover in prison; and one was to Jenkins.
“Shay, You have always been my soul-mate and I want you to love life and know I’m always with you. I told you what was coming indirectly,” reads this note.
It continues:
“I love you so much and know you are an angel – literally.
“We split into two to come change the world! Your characteristics is that of a true angel and the definition of God’s love!
“Tell my story fully but never think anything besides how much I love you.
“This was the Supreme’s, the Almighty’s plan, not mine! I love you! Let (redacted) know how much I love her! Look after (redacted) and (redacted) for me.
“They are my boys (you’re rich). I knew I loved you = Savage Garden.”
Since this note went public, a Massachusetts judge has actually cleared Hernandez of murder (it’s complicated and strange; read all about the ruling HERE), which means Jenkins may now be free to collect $ 6.5 million due to Hernandez by the Patriots.
But this isn’t Shayanna’s focus at the moment.
She has a four-year old daughter to raise, and many questions that still need to be answered.
“I felt like we were looking so bright. We were going up a ladder to a positive direction,” Jenkins-Hernandez tells Dr. Phil, adding that she never discussed suicide with her fiance.
She had no idea this was on Hernandez’s mind.
This two-part interview will air on Monday, May 16 and Tuesday, May 16.
According to McGraw’s official website, Jenkins-Hernandez will set “the record straight about her fiancé’s mysterious jail cell death” during the episode, while also touching on “rumors about his purported secret romantic life, and if she thinks he killed himself so that she could collect millions of dollars.”
We’ll update this story if/when more news breaks as a result of the Dr. Phil special.
Until then, we continue to send prayers to his young child.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Britney Spears Dead? Hoax Alleges Icon"s Demise, Pop Star Tweets Selfies
As if 2016 couldn’t get any worse, a high-profile cyber attacker hijacked Sony’s music page and declared Britney Spears dead yesterday.
Fortunately, it was a hoax. Britney is a-o-k.
Twitter freaked out Monday morning when the official Sony Music Global page posted a tweet that claimed Britney “is dead by accident.”
“We will tell you more soon,” they said.
A follow-up tweet seemed to pay tribute to Spears’ life (1981-2016). Minutes later, a sequence of new tweets confirmed that she lives.
OurMine Security said that Sony’s account had been compromised and the pop music icon, who just turned 35, is not a 2016 victim.
Weirdly, OurMine reportedly hacked Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai recently, warning they were just “testing your security.”
OurMine reportedly hacked Netflix too.
The hacking of Sony is nothing new … nor is the proliferation of fake news. Bottom line, though, is that Britney Spears remains unharmed.
Representatives for the singer confirmed this, despite false reports to the contrary, which circulated and fooled many people Monday.
Spears fans the world over were alarmed as tweets from not just Sony, but other verified accounts appeared to announce her death.
“Rest in peace, Britney Spears,” read an actual tweet from no less than Bob Dylan’s verified account; Bob apparently is a fan of Britney?
That tweet from Dylan and many others like it were deleted shortly after the hoax was debunked and they realized they’d been had.
“I assume their account has been hacked,” Adam Leber, Spears’ longtime manager, told CNN later on Monday. “I haven’t spoken to anyone.”
“I am certain their account was hacked. Britney is fine and well,” he assured the star’s fans, noting that this was a first, even for her.
“There have been a few Internet clowns over the years who have made similar claims about her death, but never the official Sony Music Twitter.”
Britney personally took to Twitter, writing simply:
“Don’t underestimate the power of Charlie’s.”
She included the following collage:
Britney is no stranger to outrageous rumors and theories over the years, but Sony has its own history with hackers too, as we know.
Long before hacking became so widespread, the emails of top executives were famously hijacked in 2014, leading to several controversies.
The Spears fake-out is surprising and yet not.
It comes on the heels of some very real celebrity deaths (George Michael) and health crises (Carrie Fisher) over the past week alone.
With the way this incredibly, often tragic year has gone, you could almost believe that something like this would happen in the waning days.
Fortunately, it was just another hoax. Phew.
When she’s not being fake-killed off by hackers, Britney has kept a relatively low profile of late, but is still going strong in life and work.
And love, according to some recent reports.
She’s started dating Sam Ashgari, who was a dancer in Britney and Tinashe’s hot “Slumber Party” video, and is performing in Vegas.
A source close to the couple says they’re in the “getting-to-know-you” stage of their relationship, having gone on three dates this far.
He’s certainly glad she’ll live to see a fourth.
Many a celebrity has been done in by Twitter, Facebook or other nefarious Internet hoax-making, but the Sony Twitter is quite unusual.
Here’s a look back at other famous “victims” we’ve covered on THG, all of whom are mercifully alive, well and entertaining us presently:
Monday, December 19, 2016
Rob Kardashian & Blac Chyna Breakup: Is It All a Hoax?
As you’ve likely heard by now, Blac Chyna left Rob Kardashian over the weekend and took the couple’s 1-month-old daughter, Dream, with her.
Obviously, Rob is upset by the development, but he’s expressing his sadness in a highly unorthodox and very 2016 fashion.
If you missed it, the 29-year-old reality star has been posting memes joking about the breakup on his Instagram page.
TBF, we’ve all taken emotional refuge in painfully close-to-home memes over the course of this god-forsaken year. So we can sort of see it.
It’s still an odd way to cope with the dissolution of one’s family, however, and doesn’t really mesh with what we know of him specifically.
After all, Rob’s inability to laugh at himself is well-documented, so it was a bit strange to see the dude re-posting memes like this …
… while joking that his ex made off with his Eggos and favorite barbecue sauce.
The whole situation is … weird, and it’s made weirder by a rant posted on what’s allegedly an unverified backup Instagram account maintained by Blac:
“This entire year I have done nothing but help Rob,” Chyna (or someone pretending to be Chyna) wrote.
“It’s so SAD & PATHETIC how low he’d stoop to cover up his personal issues! Rob is mentally ill & refuses to seek help!”
Well, they say the best thing you can do for the mentally ill is to put them on blast on social media.
We’re joking, please don’t do that if you have a person who suffers from mental illness in your life.
After seeing Blac’s message, Rob dispensed with the frozen waffle gags (he’s since deleted all the breakup memes from his IG page).
Instead, he penned a painfully honest message of heartbreak:
“Sorry to be so open but I’m not feeling so good after seeing @blacchyna messages about me and what her plans were,” Rob wrote.
“I have never been this heartbroken in my life.”
“I don’t mind being so open or if anyone thinks I’m being weak but I don’t play when it comes to Family and Chyna was my Family and thought we were getting married.”
“I treated her as a Queen.
“My baby girl is 1 month old,” he continued.
“And Chyna took her and left this beautiful home that I just bought for us. Right before Christmas. Someone I have given my all too.”
It’s all very dramatic and very, very public.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that many observers believe Rob and Chyna’s “breakup” is a shameless publicity stunt.
Adding to the suspicion is the fact that social media drama occurred the same day of the much-ballyhooed Rob and Chyna baby special.
What a coincidence, right?
Call us skeptical, but this no doubt boosted Google searches for the couple’s names just hours before they made their debut as a TV family.
On top of that, Blac’s mother, Tokyo Toni, has suggested that Blac and Rob are faking their entire relationship for the sake of the cameras.
Also, the mercurial tandem is currently under contract with E! to star in a wedding special … so there’s that aspect to factor in as well.
So yeah, it sounds like there’s a moderate-to-good chance that Rob and Blac might have been BS-ing us for awhile, or all along.
It’s irritating AF, but hey, we should probably thank them for inventing a new form of entertainment: the social media soap opera!
Watching TV is so early 2016.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Pregnancy Hoax Goes Viral, Divides the Internet
Sit down and get comfortable, readers.
The following story may take awhile to explain. But we promise it"s worthwhile.
It centers on Shantasia Phillips, an 18-year old who Tweeted an ultrasound photo to Kyle Harris, a 25-year old behind the popular Twitter account @kylegotjokes.
She alleged that he had blocked her number…and that she was pregnant with his baby… and … well… we"ll let them take it from there:
1. You Want to Block Me?
Block THIS, Phillips wrote. She claimed this was a photo of the child Harris had put inside of her.
2. Everybody Apparently Know This
Harris tried to argue that the couple used a condom. But Phillips said everyone knows he likes to go in “raw.”
3. A Revealing Exchange
From there, Harris used a screenshot of their texts to deny he had fathered any babies, actually saying his friend may have been the one who had impregnated her. Oh: and apparently Harris had a girlfriend while he was sleeping with Phillips.
4. Speaking of That Girlfriend…
… Harris decided to get her involved.
5. But The Girlfriend Wasn’t Having It…
… like, at all.
6. Are You There?!?
Yeah. Brena wanted no part of this drama.
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Jaden Smith Dead? Suicide Hoax Just Won"t Quit on Facebook
Is Jaden Smith dead? Fans across the world are freaking out over a suicide death hoax, one that has dogged the young celebrity for over a week.
Disturbing as that is, we can happily report that he is alive.
A Facebook story is going viral that purports Jaden dead.
However, the 18-year-old has not in fact killed himself. Insiders say that “the news was not true and didn’t come from a legitimate source.”
In fact, one source close to the situation confirms, “users who clicked the above-displayed message were greeted with a popup message.”
The fake story of Smith’s death cites big websites like CNN and TMZ to make it appear real, but in fact was click bait and nothing else.
In reality, Jaden is promoting his new Netflix series The Get Down and hanging out with his father Will Smith, who is promoting Suicide Squad.
The false Jaden Smith suicide rumors have been so pervasive that many questionable apps have been downloaded as a result of clicking.
Please, do not fall victim to this blatantly false scam.
Insiders say Smith did not find the death hoax very funny at all, however reports of his untimely demise didn’t seem to faze his busy life.
Since his 18th birthday July 8, Jaden has continued to work on his first album, including a “leaked” music video believed to be its first single.
Jaden can also take comfort in the fact that he is far from the first famous person to be fake killed by the Internet in such bizarre fashion …
Here are a bunch of other hoax “victims” …
Friday, September 25, 2015
Patrick Kane -- "Stolen" Rape Kit Was an "Elaborate Hoax" ... Says Furious D.A.
Z STAFF
breaking news
The D.A. for the Patrick Kane rape investigation says the alleged victim’s lawyer was flat out lying and creating a “circus” when he claimed the rape kit was stolen from police custody.
As TMZ Sports reported … the lawyer for the alleged victim held a huge news conference to accused someone of tampering with his client’s rape kit, and thereby compromising the case..
Well, D.A. Frank Sedita III is now unloading on the attorney … who said the rape kit was in a bag left at the victim’s mother’s house. Sedita blasted the whole story as false, and brought visuals as back up. You gotta see how he went off on a reporter who insinuated his office was somehow to blame.
Worth noting … the victim’s lawyer, Thomas J. Eoannou, resigned last night because he no longer bought the “stolen” rape kit story either.
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