How TMZ accidentally killed off Jerry Lee Lewis (He’s fine, by the way.)

I was sitting on the porch with the bull terrier after supper last night (Oct 26) when my phone started buzzing with news that rock’n’roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis had died. I wasn’t shocked. The Killer was 87 and had reportedly been in poor health for some time after a 2019 stroke. It’s also been reported that he’s been suffering from the flu this week.

A few minutes after the first notifications popped up, the obituaries started to appear, obviously pre-written for the moment. A couple of TV news networks called, asking if I’d be willing to go on-air to talk about Lewis’ career and influence.

And then came the retraction. Hoax or bad information? A bit of both, it appears.

As far as I can tell, the deathwatch began on Tuesday when his sister posted this on Facebook:

Mix that with a post from October 19 about his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. It read “On Sunday, Jerry Lee Lewis was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The legendary Jerry Lee was too ill with the flu to attend the ceremony. His longtime dear friend Kris Kristofferson accepted in his honor from Hank Williams Jr. and Kris and his wife Lisa were nice enough to drive down to Memphis and present it to Jerry Lee in person.”

Lewis added this: “It is with heartfelt sadness and disappointment that I write to you today from my sick bed, rather than be able to share my thoughts in person. I tried everything I could to build up the strength to come today – I’ve looked so forward to it since I found out about it earlier this year. My sincerest apologies to all of you for missing this fine event, but I hope to see you all soon.”

Then sometime on Wednesday, one of TMZ’s tipsters–someone claiming to be a spokesperson for Lewis–told the program that he’d died. Taking the information as gospel, they ran with the story. Oops. A real rep had stepped in with the truth.

Given all the tips TMZ must have to deal with every single day–they have informants and spies everywhere–you have to wonder why they didn’t vet things more. Or at all. And who was the alleged spokesperson? Was their motive just to punk TMZ? Or was it something else?

Then came the corrections, withdrawals, and deletions. TMZ made a statement: “We’re told the rock ‘n’ roll legend is alive, living in Memphis. 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.”

Again, oops. E! News had fun with their rival’s screw-up.

Lewis’ sister had something to say, of course. Wouldn’t you?

This is the second celebrity death hoax in a week. About two weeks ago, People magazine reported that Joni Mitchell had passed. Not true.