Jack Black Dead? Actor’s Band Tenacious D Tweets About His Death, Later Insists Account Was Hacked
A tweet about actor/comedian/musician Jack Black’s death momentarily sent the internet in a tizzy. The fact that the tweet was from the Black’s music band, Tenacious D, appeared to lend authenticity to the sad news. However, the death hoax was soon exposed after the band’s official Twitter account posted a follow up tweet, which noted they were hacked.
Official Twitter account of Tenacious D, a rock band that Jack Black is associated with, posted a tweet this morning saying one part of the band’s duo had died. The tweet, which has long been removed, read as follows.
“It is with a heavy heart, I am to announce that Jack Black passed away last night at 3:37 a.m. The cause of death is yet unknown.”
— Tenacious D (@RealTenaciousD) June 5, 2016?
A little while later, a second tweet appeared that seemed to reconfirm the sad news, albeit with slightly different words:
“I’m sad to officially annouce the death of Jack Black at the age of 46, rest in peace brother (sic).”
The two tweets caused Twitter users to express their condolences, but interestingly, not many believed the tweets and even rubbished them. While many of the actor’s fans were initially confused, some confirmed they saw Black hale and hearty. One Twitter user said Black was on a plane headed to Los Angeles following his appearance with bandmate Kyle Glass at two music festivals in Germany, reported BBC. Another social media user posted a photo of Black on Diplo’s Snapchat taken just eight hours earlier.
Jack Black looks alive and well on Diplo's Snapchat story. pic.twitter.com/dNpzqOOnsR
— Wriggy (@Wriggy) June 5, 2016
An hour and 20 minutes later, Tenacious D finally revealed it was just a prank. “Calm down guys! It’s just a prank bro, look there’s the camera… The Legend is still alive, it is ok guys :),” reported Hollywood Life. The account later tweeted, “I’m going to assume that Jack is asleep right now, so when he wakes up, email the email that was linked to this Twitter for his account back.”
People seem 99% sure this is all a hoax.https://t.co/PS52b5sOCn
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) June 5, 2016
While the announcement shocked fans, many wondered if it could be a Twitter hack, given the lack of detail, spelling and grammar errors and absence of other credible reports, reported News. Incidentally, the death hoax did turn out to be much more than an elaborate prank. The band tweeted that their account was subjected to a successful hacking attempt and the hacker, having gained access to the Twitter account, posted the tweets that claimed Jack Black had died.
WE had our Twitter account hacked. We can assure you that Jack is ALIVE and WELL and that this was a sick "prank".
— Tenacious D (@tenaciousd) June 5, 2016
A little investigation revealed that it might have been a Twitter account holder who goes by the handle @Ruthless, who might be behind the hoax. The person may have gained access to Tenacious D account because the account tweeted the following.
“RT if I fooled you all!”
The tweet was instantly retweeted by Tenacious D. Subsequently, John Konesky, a guitar player with Tenacious D, also tweeted that the Twitter feed was hacked and the news wasn’t true. He added that the social media team is fixing the issue.
So far, neither Jack Black nor his band’s U.S., as well as U.K., representatives have issued any official statements that dismiss the rumor about the actor’s death. However, given the fact that Jack Black has been the victim of multiple death hoaxes in the past, he might have considered fairly frivolous to personally reassure his fans. Incidentally, that job was successfully done by Black’s fans, who quickly posted tweets confirming the actor was alive.
While the latest death hoax was very light on details, in 2012, Jack Black had “fallen off a cliff in New Zealand,” while the one in 2014 insisted he had died after a stroke.
Apart from Tenacious D, quite recently it was Katy Perry, who had her Twitter account hacked. Besides sending out offensive tweets, the hacker illegally accessed unreleased music she had been recording.
[Photo by Alex Moss/Getty Images]
