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Kanye West Not Dead, Despite Net Rumor Frenzy

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by Sarah MacRory, N.Y.  |   October 21, 2009 1:16 EDT
Kanye West

Kanye West is not dead.

 

An internet hoax that first surfaced on Tuesday (October 20) has spun into a massive frenzy of web rumors on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. The prank was a set up of a Fox News Web page headlining West's death in "a bizarre car crash in Los Angeles." The fraudulent web site that churned out the news of West's faux-death has been taken down.

Media outlets and news have been re-assuring the public that the rap/hip-hop star has not left this world, but before they had done so West's girlfriend, Amber Rose used her own Twitter to combat the rumor. "This 'RIP Kanye West' topic is not funny and it's NOT TRUE!," she Tweeted. "He has people like myself and his family that love him very much..." She went on to defend West by saying that everyone makes mistakes, referring to the heightened attention the hip-hop star has been receiving post-VMAs.
 
The release of the fraud web site slosely follows the release of West's latest video, helmed by "Where the Wild Things Are" director by Spike Jonze. The video was posted on West's popular blog  this past weekend but was subsequently removed on Sunday. The artsy video features a drunken, blurry-eyed, stumbling West in a club who eventually plunges an archaic dagger into his body to reveal a tiny demonic creature living within him. The theme of death or suicide in the video is evident and has fueled the fire of rumors about his death this week.

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