Queen Elizabeth Death Hoax Prompts Response From Hollywood Unlocked Founder Amid False Reporting Accusations
Hollywood Unlocked founder Jason Lee is standing by a report published on his website late Tuesday claiming that Queen Elizabeth II has died. Buckingham Palace has not announced the queen's death or made any further comments on her condition since she canceled virtual meetings earlier Tuesday. The queen, 95, tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.
On Tuesday, Hollywood Unlocked published an "exclusive" that Queen Elizabeth died, citing "sources close to the Royal Kingdom." The site also published this news on its Instagram page. Lee instantly faced criticism for publishing this, especially as it became more clear that the queen has not really died. Despite this, Lee has continued to stand by his reporting. "We don't post lies and I always stand by my sources. Waiting for an official statement from the palace," he tweeted Tuesday night.
On Wednesday morning, a Twitter page claiming to represent Hollywood Unlocked published a retraction. Variety even picked up on this tweet, which sent "our deepest apologies" to the Royal Family for the "embarrassing situation." The tweet claimed an intern accidentally published a draft post. This tweet has since been deleted, and the Twitter page's user added "unofficial" to the page's bio. Hollywood Unlocked does not have a verified Twitter page aside from Lee's own verified page.
"Woke up to some fake account posting a retraction. We do not know that account and we have not retracted our story," Lee tweeted Wednesday morning. "There has yet to be an official statement from the Palace. Staying tuned." Lee also took to Instagram, demanding Variety retract its story. Variety did publish an update on its story to mention Lee's Wednesday morning tweet.
Hollywood Unlocked's original post about the queen is still live, as is its Instagram post. HuffPost journalist Carly Ledbetter noted that Hollywood Unlocked published an Instagram post about the U.K. government's plans for when the queen dies. This post was flagged as "false information" and was later deleted. The post claiming the queen is dead does not have the "false information" flag on it. (Last fall, Politico U.K. reported that the U.K. government's plan for responding to the queen's death is called "Operation London Bridge.")
The Hollywood Unlocked drama is playing out days after Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth's COVID-19 diagnosis. The queen was showing "mild cold-like symptoms" and would continue "light duties at Windsor over the next week." On Tuesday, the palace said the queen canceled her planned virtual engagements, but would still continue performing her daily "light duties" as the U.K.'s head of state. Queen Elizabeth marked 70 years on the throne earlier this month.