UPDATE: Russell Crowe has responded, via Twitter, to "news" of his death: "Unable to answer tweets fell off a mountain in Austria,all over red rover. Don't know how i got there, but the media are never wrong.G'Bye."
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Folks, did we learn nothing from the James Avery death hoax? Stars' mothers cry over this stuff.
Here's hoping Russell Crowe's mum is holding up OK after her Oscar-winning son was reported to have fallen to his death from an Austrian mountaintop.
Better make that "reported." By the Celeb Fake News Generator.
The build-your-own-bogus-calamity site, which earlier this year sent the perfectly fine Kristen Stewart to the hospital, appears to be the original source of Crowe misinformation that fired up Twitter late Wednesday through this morning, and briefly infected the actor's Wikipedia page.
During the height of the morbid rumor, the 46-year-old Crowe was safe and sound and apparently talking soccer and Australian rules football at his Twitter page.
Since fake-death news does not die so easily, Crowe's publicist issued the requisite "not true" to answer to the reports.
Crowe hasn't yet tweeted a response or reaction. Maybe he's too busy living. If not reassuring his mom.
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Did you hear? All is well with Fresh Prince's Uncle Phil, too.