Heavy D Dead: Rev. Jesse Jackson Mistakenly Tweets 'Death' Message on Ruby Dee
When news broke of rapper Heavy D passing away Tuesday, many fans, celebrities and public officials took to Twitter to express their sadness at the loss, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who startled many users when he mistakenly informed his followers of the wrong "Dee's" death.
Jackson, 70, informed his Twitter followers that 87-year-old actress Ruby Dee had died, which apparently prompted her name to become a trending a topic on the social networking website, according to The Associated Press.
The civil rights activist soon realized his error, however, and issued a correction.
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"CORRECTION: The news of the passing of Ruby Dee HAS NOT BEEN confirmed. Pls share this information with followers," Jackson tweeted (@RevJJackson).
Jackson's Twitter feed is locked to those outside of his network, but the comment still appears in search results on the social networking website.
Despite Jackson's aim to dispel the rumor of Ruby Dee's death, which the actress addressed through a media representative, the Twitterverse took Jackson's comment and ran with it, poking fun at the gentleman's age among other things.
Actress and stand-up comic Loni Love: "Jesse Jackson mixed up Ruby Dee with Heavy D..this is why I won't let my Mom use twitter..#sticktousingthephone"
A user by the name of "MissLisa1970" tweeted: "@RevJJackson-God grant U the serenity 2 accept the tweets U cannot change; and wisdom to know the difference between Heavy D & Ruby Dee-amen"
Blogger Erin Harper: "Jesse Jackson is aging so his phonological processing skills could be declining. He may have heard 'ruby d' vs. heavy d. #deadserious"
Political commentator Donna Brazile: "Lord, #Ruby Dee is alive. Speaking of Legends, I saw and spoke with 3 today -- Bill Cosby, Cicely Tyson and Carla Harris. What a moment!"
Jamal Bryant, pastor of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, M.D.: "RT @RevJJackson: CORRECTION: The news of the passing of Ruby Dee HAS NOT BEEN confirmed.....I can't take another one!"
Heavy D, born Dwight Arrington Myers, passed away Nov. 8 at a Los Angeles hospital after being found having difficulty breathing in his Beverly Hills condominium. It was not immediately clear what caused the rapper's death. He was 44.
