After breaking the internet with an untrue report that 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth had passed away last week, Jason Lee and Hollywood Unlocked are acknowledging the incident and explaining exactly what lead them to believe, and post that the monarch had died.
It was on Tuesday, February 22nd that the report was uploaded to the publication's channels, prompting countless social media reactions to flood in as people not only shared their condolences but questioned how someone like Lee could get insider information about the British Royal Family before anyone else.
The rumour mill began turning after Lee was contacted by "a source who was in attendance at the wedding of British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful," claiming to have witnessed "a call in which news of the Queen's death had been confirmed to a high-profile attendee," also outlining the dismay that allegedly followed suit at the star-studded event.
The story goes on to point out that Enninful is a prominent fashion figure in the UK, and he has connections with many royals, so the attendance of associates closely related to the family isn't something to be scoffed at. Next, it's noted that the Queen was last publicly seen on Wednesday, February 16th – four days later, she tested positive for COVID-19 and cancelled all in-person meetings.
Seeing as Lee knew of her Majesty's illness, and had a credible first source, he reportedly spoke to another source who's familiar with the British military, who directly confirmed that "the palace had been locked down and all the top generals had been summoned to Windsor Castle 'for an undisclosed reason'" approximately four hours before HU shared their story.
Elsewhere, it's been pointed out that earlier this month, Queen Elizabeth announced that, upon Prince Charles' ascension to the throne, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will become known as "Queen Consort," illustrating that "her mortality was an ongoing discussion that could not be ignored as she celebrates an unprecedented 70 years on the throne."
Lee also referred to "Operation London Bridge" in his official explanation, sharing that the information he was receiving from sources was lining up with the extensive game plan that's to be carried out upon the monarch's passing.
Lastly, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis and the world's state of political unrest are brought up, before the outlet reminds readers of their reputation and validity. "As a matter of record, up until this point all of our sources have delivered us accurate accounts that have later been substantiated by larger publications," they wrote.
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"So breaking stories before anyone else is not uncommon or atypical for us. All news outlets get it wrong sometimes despite their best efforts and we will always take full accountability when that happens."
On a final note, a quote from Lee himself, who said, "Although I’ve never been wrong when breaking a story because this involves The Queen this is one time I would want to be."
"And based on Wednesday’s report from the Palace, I can say my sources got this wrong and I sincerely apologize to The Queen and the Royal Family."
[Via]