With the way news spreads these days, it is easy for misinformation to make its way to the forefront. Even scarier is when it’s information about someone passing away. MC Lyte made the mistake of passing along some bad info earlier today concerning O Jay’s singer Eddie Levert. What happened, and what is the status of Mr. Levert?
STOP THE BS!!!! WE (myself & Walter) would know if something happened to @Eddie_Levert if I didn’t post it then it’s NOT TRUE!!! And FYI @rolandsmartin is family..he would know too pic.twitter.com/11vOpa4k7N
— EricNolanGrant (@IamEricNolan) January 11, 2023
MC Lyte was one of many people who took to social media earlier today to share the news that Eddie Levert had passed away. While she’s since deleted the post, her millions of followers had already taken it and ran with it and began sharing their condolences online. By now, the information that he has not passed has spread, and many are very upset at those who passed it along without any confirmation.
“Whoever started that rumor of Eddie Levert dying is low and weird. Death isn’t something to play about. Don’t play on my father-in-law’s name!” said one person. Another said, “Will you all please stop trying to kill Eddie? We need to keep our legends around as long as we can! The O’Jays is my favorite R&B group! This is getting ridiculous! #EddieLevert #ojays.”
In the last few weeks, fake celebrity death announcements have been circulating as part of a terrible Tiktok trend where kids tried to shock their parents while recording their reactions as they give them the bad news. Angela Bassett’s son participated in this horrible trend, telling his mother that Michael B. Jordan had died.
Stop the Rumors: The O’Jays’ Eddie Levert is alive and well https://t.co/sZSLs12zOk pic.twitter.com/AX8caXAWfM
— soultracks (@soultrackscom) January 11, 2023
Journalist Roland Martin took to social media to vent his frustration at people passing along these terrible rumors without confirming. He mentioned that a celebrity had been the one to amplify this specific story and condemned them for doing so. While he did not mention MC Lyte by name, he did go on to say that Eddie is a dear friend of his and has been having to answer calls all day from family and friends concerned about his whereabouts.
“My heart dropped. Eddie is a dear friend,” Martin said in the video. He said he had just gotten off the phone with both Eddie and his wife and confirmed that he was ok. “Eddie Levert is with us,” he concluded. He then Tweeted, “PLEASE don’t spread lies about celebrities passing away without REAL CONFIRMATION. I just woke up to an IG post from a celebrity saying Eddie Levert became an ancestor. I immediately called his wife. He is alive and well. Stop believing janky sources. Eddie is still with us!!!”
MC Lyte got the news that Eddie had not died and took to her IG to update her fans as well. “I just spoke with Sir Eddie Levert, and he is alive and well. I’ve learned a valuable lesson, and that is never to take a word for granted,” she said in the lengthy post. “I will exhaust all efforts to speak with a trusted member of the family and or friend. That’s where @iamroblove comes in. I called Rob to confirm, and he immediately patched me into Mr. Levert, and once hearing his voice, my soul lifted.”
In case you see a rumor that #EddieLevert has passed, #MCLyte and #RolandMartin are calling BS on that. https://t.co/gb9YDRghqT pic.twitter.com/fNRZRc6c4E
— YBF CHIC (@TheYBF) January 11, 2023
Lyte thanked her immediate fans and concluded, “Thanks to a few callers, I have been made accurate in saying, HE IS ALIVE & WELL. AMEN🙏🏽❤️”
