For as long as there has been the internet, there has also been the internet death hoax. From time to time, jokers will pop up to share a falsified story about the premature demise of a whole host of actors, musicians, and sports stars. The latest victim of hacker tomfoolery is none other than Jack Black, who was erroneously declared dead by the official Twitter account of his band Tenacious D.
"I’m sad to officially announce the death of Jack Black at the age of 46, rest in peace brother," the first tweet read. That was followed up by a tweet that simply said, "#RipJackBlack." And then another popped up, saying, "It is with a heavy heart I am to announce that Jack Black passed away last night at 3:37am. The cause of death is yet unknown."
Of course, as it turned out, the account had been hacked, but it took several hours before the hoax was debunked. One of the biggest factors that added credence to the "prank" was the band was in Germany to play Friday's Rock am Ring Festival, where a series of lightning strikes left 80 people on the ground injured. The remainder of the festival has since been canceled due to further storms.
Tenacious D finally regained control of their account and at their first opportunity eased concerned fans, writing, "WE had our Twitter account hacked. We can assure you that Jack is ALIVE and WELL and that this was a sick 'prank.'" They have since deleted the falsified tweets from their timeline.
