Queen Elizabeth Had Died, Instagram Gossip Blog With 2.8 Million Followers Said So

The CEO of Hollywood Unlocked has doubled down on his claim that Queen Elizabeth had died, even though other outlets have not reported such news.

The internet ignited Tuesday after the pop blog with 2.8 million Instagram followers published an article that claimed “sources close to the Royal Kingdom” had exclusively told the blog that Queen Elizabeth had died.

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The blog provided no other information on the claim, which has not been addressed by Buckingham Palace. Representatives for Buckingham Palace did not return Insider’s request for comment on Wednesday.

As Insider reported, it is extremely unlikely the world would learn of the Queen‘s death from a gossip site. There are rigid plans in place by the palace that detail everything from who will first be informed to what songs UK radio stations can play before announcing the news.

This post was followed by an announcement that the sovereign was diagnosed with COVID-19 and had mild symptoms.

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After the blog post spread across social media, the website’s founder and CEO, Jason Lee, tweeted “we don’t post lies and I always stand by my sources,” adding that he was waiting for the palace’s “official confirmation.”

Hollywood Unlocked Did Not Respond To The Queen Elizabeth News

Hollywood Unlocked did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Lee also Tuesday posted a screenshot from the iPhone notes app on Instagram that appeared to defend the claim. In the post, he wrote he had “never been wrong” and said 

On Wednesday morning, a Twitter account also called Hollywood Unlocked shared a retraction, saying it sent its “deepest apologies” to Queen Elizabeth and the royal family and that “it was an accident and we’re working hard to make sure that this mistake never happens again,” Variety reported.

The tweet appeared to also blame the article on an “intern journalist” who published “the draft post by mistake,” according to the Variety report.

That tweet, which has since been deleted, was lambasted hours later by Lee, who said he “woke up to some fake account posting a retraction” and said, “we do not know that account.”

The Twitter account has existed since 2019 and has often used the same Hollywood Unlocked logo that is used on its website and Instagram account.