Rumors build quickly in the universe of gossip blogs, as do reports of celebrities in Asheville. Sometimes they burn so fast that they supernova and die before you have even heard them.
Such was the case of the gossip site TMZ’s “exclusive” that rap mogul Jay-Z died in a small-plane crash on Friday, May 4. The plane in question went down near the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville.
No comment is given as to how the rumor got going or what Jay-Z would be doing on a plane from Dublin, Ga., to Asheville on his way to Las Vegas for the Mayweather-de la Hoya fight, but TMZ’s “update” — where they proclaimed the rapper not dead and reported the crash victims were “all white” — got plenty of play in the blog world , including here, here and here. Others issued a collective sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the FAA continues to investigate the crash, which killed three Dublin residents less than two miles from the Asheville Regional Airport.
— Brian Postelle, staff writer
My brother-in-law, a charter pilot based in Knoxville, once flew Jay-Z and said he was the nicest passenger he ever had.
If Jay-Z had died, that would mean Beyonce was back on the market then, right?
It was me, I was drunk, bored at westville when I spilled a beer onto the patron next to me. My memory is a bit fuzzy but I remember trying to change the subject, so I said “I heard Jay – Z died”. After that my fellow bar flies assumed that the recent crash was what did the Rap star in. I am sorry, I meant no harm, I simply wanted to distract people from my careless blunder.
Oh my God, I’m so sorry about your loss, Melanie. At least your brother-in-law died doing what he loved. It must be comforting to know that he passed on while caring so much about his final passenger. My heart goes out to you and to Jay-Z’s family.
Very funny. My BIL is still very much alive, thank you. (At least I think so … assume we would have gotten a call by now.) He’s also flown Elton John and Martha Stewart, but I can’t spill what he said about them.