Hollywood Unlocked Triples Down on 'Exclusive' Report of Queen's Death

 

Audra Schroeder

Published Feb 23, 2022   Updated Feb 23, 2022, 12:09 pm CST

The entertainment website Hollywood Unlocked posted on Tuesday that Queen Elizabeth had died, before any official reports or the Royals confirmed it. And then a possibly fake Hollywood Unlocked account used the old “blame it on an intern” excuse.

On Wednesday morning, a Hollywood Unlocked account tweeted that the post, which went up on Instagram to Hollywood Unlocked’s 2.8 million followers as an “exclusive,” was “an accident,” and expressed its “deepest apologies” to the Royal Family.

“The intern journalist was misinformed and published the draft by mistake,” it read.

While that tweet is now deleted, it was still confusing to some, because Hollywood Unlocked CEO Jason Lee had previously doubled down on the report, tweeting on Tuesday afternoon, “We don’t post lies and I always stand by my sources. Waiting for an official statement from the palace.” On Wednesday, he tweeted about a “fake account” that had posted a “retraction,” but clarified that Hollywood Unlocked had not retracted its story. It appears he’s referencing the @HollywoodUL account, though it’s not clear if that account is his. Adding to the confusion, the @HollywoodUL account retweeted his post about the “fake account.”

We don’t post lies and I always stand by my sources. Waiting for an official statement from the palace.

— Jason Lee (@theonlyjasonlee) February 22, 2022

Woke up to some fake account posting a retraction. We do not know that account and we have not retracted our story. There has yet to be an official statement from the Palace. Staying tuned.

— Jason Lee (@theonlyjasonlee) February 23, 2022

The edited Queen Elizabeth Instagram post is still up as of Wednesday morning. It states: “Sources close to the Royal Palace notified us exclusively that #QueenElizabeth has passed away. She was scheduled to attend the wedding of British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, but was found dead.” (The original Insta post apparently said “Royal kingdom.”) A post on the Hollywood Unlocked site (by “DefaultUser”) is also still up.

The Queen recently contracted COVID-19, and canceled some “virtual” meetings this week while dealing with a “mild” case, according to the palace. Still, some found it dubious that Hollywood Unlocked would be the site to break this massive news. Others took pleasure imagining what legal action might take place.

wym the queen died. and wym the source is jason lee.

— melv. (@manizegos) February 22, 2022

Jason Lee said the Queen died getting ready for a black man’s wedding. U cant tell me he’s not going to hell. This was the entertainment I needed man.

— ALIKA. (@TheRealAlika) February 22, 2022

But is the world so upside-down right now that this could actually be true?

After learning that Tyler Perry rescued Prince Harry and Meghan from Buckingham Palace, I 100% believe Jason Lee could be the first to know if the queen died

— ♡ (@bimboyugari) February 22, 2022

We reached out to Hollywood Unlocked for comment. When the Queen does die, there is an official process in place for announcing the news.

*First Published: Feb 23, 2022, 11:17 am CST

Audra Schroeder

Audra Schroeder is the Daily Dot’s senior entertainment writer, and she focuses on streaming, comedy, and music. Her work has previously appeared in the Austin Chronicle, the Dallas Observer, NPR, ESPN, Bitch, and the Village Voice. She is based in Austin, Texas.