Jason Lee was heavily trolled on social media for propagating the news of Queen Elizabeth's death. The founder of HollywoodUnlocked published an exclusive piece confirming Queen Elizabeth's death citing 'sources close to the Royal Palace' in the late hours of February 22. The 95-year-old queen had recently tested positive for Covid-19.
"Sources close to the Royal Kingdom notified us exclusively that Queen Elizabeth has passed away. She was scheduled to attend the wedding of British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, but was found dead," Lee wrote in the exclusive HU piece. The news quickly went viral all over social media on Tuesday night.
Netizens trolled Lee for spreading fake news as multiple news websites busted the hoax of Queen Elizabeth's death. Social media sleuths mocked Lee asking if Queen Elizabeth did die, why would Royal Palace inform Jason Lee first, of all people.
Lee, however, stood by his words. "We don't post lies and I always stand by my sources. Waiting for an official statement from the palace," he tweeted in response to the widespread criticism.
Fake News
After the rumor went viral on Tuesday night, a parliamentary official confirmed that there was no truth to the reports, according to BNO News. Dayo Okewale, chief of staff in the House of Lords, also noted that the report about the queen's death was 'false.'
On Sunday, Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II had tested positive for Covid-19, and was suffering from mild, cold-like symptoms. In an update on her health, the palace noted on Tuesday that the Queen continues to suffer from Covid-19.
'Who is Running to Tell him Queen Elizabeth Died Before TMZ?'
Netizens mocked Jason Lee for citing 'sources from the Royal Palace' in his exclusive piece. "I wanna know who in Buckingham Palace would see Queen Elizabeth passed away in her bed and think to themselves, 'Oh bloody f**king hell, we must phone Jason Lee'," one person tweeted.
"By the time they'll be finished with Jason Lee, he'll be applying for internship at UK gossip," another tweet read.