This article was originally published on JustStarz
The Taylor Swift and Beyonce Camaraderie Was Planned by MTV
The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was one of the craziest awards shows the world had seen. It probably retained that title up until the 2022 Academy Awards, but we'll get to that later. The 2009 VMAs were marred by controversy after Kanye West grabbed the microphone from Taylor Swift as she was supposed to give a winning speech. West took that moment to tell the audience Beyonce should have won Best Video, not Taylor.
Both Swift and Beyonce appeared shaken up by the incident. Later on, as Beyonce accepted her own award, she called Taylor back on stage to finish her speech that Kanye interrupted. Taylor later voiced how grateful she was for Queen B's actions. But while all of us thought this was a sweet, natural moment between the two women, it was allegedly anything but that. It was all Viacom President Van Toffler's idea. He pitched it to Beyonce's team and then convinced Taylor's crew to go along with it.
Zac and Vanessa's Relationship Was Allegedly All for Show
High School Musical rocked the world of children/preteen film as we knew it. The franchise became a sort of empire within Disney, including a musical series that began years after the last HSM film premiered. And the truth is that a large part of the franchise's success might be due to the lovebirds who were once at the center of it: Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron. We thought these stars were Hollywood's teenage power couple for quite a few years.
But when they broke up as soon as the third film premiered, many alleged it was all staged. What a buzzkill.
Were T Swift And T Hiddleston Ever Actually Dating?
Looking back, it's easy to understand allegations that Taylor Swift's relationship with Tom Hiddleston was all fake. The two broke up after a short three months of dating; that, mixed with other details, led to allegations that what we thought was budding love was actually all for show. It just seemed too good to be true that Taylor and her new boyfriend made their debut (by making out on the beach) the same weekend that Taylor was all over the tabloids for allegedly lying about the Kanye-Kim-Taylor drama.
It worked out nicely for Taylor that the news sites suddenly had something new to talk about unrelated to the Kanye drama.
The Allegations Surrounding Beyonce's Pregnancy
When Beyonce announced she was pregnant with her husband Jay-Z's child at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the Beyhive went absolutely bananas. With all of Beyonce's talent and charisma, and with Jay-Z's skill, this kid was going to be a natural superstar. We were all so excited about the star's pregnancy journey, but things started getting weird. After Beyonce's pregnant belly had a strange outline during an interview, allegations sprouted that a surrogate may be carrying the child while Beyonce made public appearances with a fake belly.
The allegations disappointed those of us who previously believed her pregnancy to be real.
That Time We All Thought Jennifer Lopez and Drake Were Dating
A few years ago, music fans almost broke the internet when they started speculating that Drake and Jennifer Lopez could be dating. This wasn't just some random hypothesis, of course. These speculations were based on social media posts showing Drake and J-Lo sitting very close together (you can see what we mean below). They were also seen attending each other's shows. So, everyone just figured that the two were together and held their breath, waiting for the official announcement.
But as it turns out, the romance we all thought was budding was fake. The photos and dates were allegedly done just to get attention and promote their upcoming music collaboration. Once again, the smoke and mirrors of Hollywood tricked us all.
Was Kanye's Interruption of Taylor Planned Ahead of Time?
The night that Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMAs marked the beginning of more than a decade of feuding. And while we know that the sweet interaction between Beyonce and Taylor that followed the infamous interruption was staged, there are allegations that other parts of that night's series of events were pre-planned, too. Could the drama we've been following since 2009 have been sparked by a staged event?
The allegations that this dramatic (and iconic) moment was far from spontaneous came about because of how perfect the whole thing seemed for television ratings, not to mention the amount of attention the stars involved got afterward.
Edward And Bella Were Allegedly Together Just for the Twilight Franchise
With all the hype surrounding the Twilight movie franchise, it seemed almost too good to be true that lead actress Kristen Stewart and lead actor Robert Pattinson would be involved in a romantic relationship. But that's what happened, and naturally, movie/book fans went wild with glee. The two actors became one of Hollywood's best-known power couples at the time, with plenty of people cheering for their success as partners.
While at the time, we all believed their love to be real, things got fishy when Kristen was seen with someone else. Then, the pair broke up just months after the last Twilight film premiered. It's no wonder their relationship is now alleged to have been staged.
The Suspicions Surrounding Kate Middleton's Pregnancy
Almost the entirety of the UK was holding their breath when Princess Kate Middleton went into the hospital to give birth to Princess Charlotte. They were worried about the mother's health, the baby's health, and the royal family's future. But, twelve hours later, a new set of concerns arose when Princess Kate emerged from the hospital in tip-top shape. Since Kate looked so chipper, allegations that she must have secretly used a surrogate surfaced.
Nothing was ever addressed, and the world was left to wonder whether the allegations were true or not.
Did Kim Kardashian Marry Kris Humphries for the TV Ratings?
Back in 2011, Kim Kardashian had her own royal moment when E network televised "Kim's Fairytale Wedding." The program was a televised showing of Kardashian's marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries. On TV, everything seemed on the up and up. But, 72 days later, Kardashian wound up filing for divorce from the basketball player, citing irreconcilable differences. And so it was hardly surprising when allegations over the marriage being staged started making the news.
The allegations pointed to how much the entire Kardashian empire benefited from the attention and television ratings that came along with Kim's walk down the aisle. There was plenty of hype around a marriage that only ended up lasting just over two months, bringing the genuineness of this A-list moment into question.
Costars Theo James and Shailene Woodley's Romance
In the leadup to the release of 2013's Divergent, many fans were speculating that Theo James and Shailene Woodley might be dating behind the scenes. The two had chemistry on screen and seemed awfully close when the paparazzi would find them out in public. But, as soon as the film was released and the box office money came in, the relationship apparently ended. This led to claims that their supposed romance and time together were all a studio ploy.
While the allegations were never confirmed, this allegedly staged romance is another one for the Hollywood books.
The Oscar Madness Between Will Smith and Chris Rock
There are some nights that will go down in the history books of Hollywood and never be forgotten. The 2022 Oscars is one of those nights. In case you need a little refresher, here it is: Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith's new hairdo, Will Smith apparently didn't appreciate the jab, so he proceeded to climb on stage and slap Chris Rock right on the face. Simply unforgettable. In fact, maybe it was too perfectly unforgettable.
The whole thing seemed too good to be true for live television, and allegations quickly arose that the whole thing was planned. After all, Will, Jada, and Chris were all long-time friends. Things just didn't seem to be adding up.
Is It Just a Coincidence That All of the Spider-Man Couples Date in Real Life?
Alright, Spider-Man fans, listen up because we've got some news you might not like. It might seem super cute and romantic that pretty much every on-screen Spider-Man couple has ended up dating in real life, but things might not be as... real as they seem. That's right - there are allegations that at least one of the real-life Spider-Man/Gwen Stacy matches was staged. Can you guess which? We'll give you three chances.
If you guessed Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, then you are correct. The pair started dating during filming and broke up soon after their second (and last) movie together came out.
That Time We All Thought Jack Black Kicked the Bucket
If you're reading about a celebrity's passing on someone's real, verified Twitter profile, it probably means that the celebrity really has left us. As hard as it is to accept, those blue "verified" checkmarks give any claim more credibility. So when the official profile for the Tenacious D started tweeting condolences back in 2016, we all tuned in. The tweets shared some tragic news: frontman Jack Black had passed away the previous night.
The world began mourning the death of the iconic funny guy. But as it turned out, none of it was real. A few hours after the news broke, Tenacious D was back on Twitter saying Jack Black was alive and claiming their account had been hacked.
Another Movie, Another Staged Relationship
Who can ever forget the media scandal and obsession that was the Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston divorce? The tabloids still talk about it at least once a year, if not more, and it happened way back in 2005. And while that relationship was hot and heavy for about a decade, another relationship Jennifer had wasn't so hot - and led to allegations that the whole thing was a PR stunt.
When Jennifer started a romance with her newest co-star, Vince Vaughn, just in time for their movie, things looked suspicious. Some allegations claimed the fake relationship was an effort by Jennifer's team to get attention away from the Brad Pitt scandal, while others said it was a simple PR stunt for Vince and Jennifer's movie.
The World Thought We'd Lost Michael Jordan
Back in 2015, fans were shocked to learn the man, the myth, the legend that is Michael Jordan, had died of a heart attack in his sleep. With footage of a crying news anchor to go along with the report, most of us didn't question whether the tragedy was real. Fans worldwide began mourning the loss of the beloved basketball and business icon. And then the truth came out.
As tears spilled down our cheeks, the pieces slowly came together, and it became clear the whole thing was staged. The reporting site spliced in footage of ESPN anchor Rich Eisen crying about something else entirely and pretended he was crying about Michael Jordan. After a short period of deep grief, we breathed a sigh of relief.
Cher's Famous Fake Death
The rise of social media means information gets around very, very quickly. However, as we all know, that information isn't always fact-checked. So when a random Facebook group made a post in 2016 asking people to like and share it "in honor of Cher," the online world quickly took it to mean the talented icon had passed away. A Hollywood starlet gone too soon, fans worldwide mourned her passing.
The RIP Cher page quickly garnered more than a million likes. We all believed it to be true but soon learned the whole thing was staged by the Facebook page creators.
Why Did Bloomberg Stage Steve Jobs' Passing?
Bloomberg news had a tenuous relationship with Apple and its late founder, Steve Jobs, that led to some weird happenings. In 2008 (three years before Jobs actually passed away), Bloomberg published a 17-page obituary for the tech genius. And let's just say it wasn't a very flowery piece. But regardless of the obituary's details, one thing was for sure: a reputable news source said Steve Jobs died, and so the world believed it.
Since Bloomberg has so many readers in the financial sector, the news rattled many Wall Street investors. Thankfully, after the story was redacted and Bloomberg apologized for the misinformation, the markets seemed to stabilize themselves. It's unclear why the media company decided to put forth the fake story.
When Lindsay Lohan Passed Away
With all of the trouble she had with substances in the past, Lindsay Lohan very easily could've left us by now. But, thankfully, the Herbie Fully Loaded actress is still going strong and looks better than ever. Still, in 2011 fans got incredibly worried when it looked like E! News was reporting her death. For a moment in time, we sadly thought the former child star had passed away.
From The Parent Trap to Freaky Friday, Lindsay Lohan was essential to so many of our childhoods. That's why we were so glad to find out that the death news was all fake. It turned out to be an E! News copycat account, not the real E! News, who reported it. Who exactly was behind the fake account is unclear.
The #RIPDrake Hashtag Had Us All Thinking He Passed Away
The larger a celebrity's following, the more people will be shocked and saddened by their death; that's some basic math. But, since celebrity death hoaxes happen all the time, fans nowadays aren't going to believe their favorite singer or artist is gone until they see it reported by a reputable news source. So when it seemed the LA Times said rapper Drake passed away, his fans believed it, and #RIPDrake quickly started trending online.
But just as word got around, and we thought the famous rapper was gone, we found out the truth. The whole thing was staged by some pranksters who made a website called LA Tlmes, with a lowercase 'L' instead of an 'i' in Times. They technically didn't steal the newspaper's name, but it was similar enough to trick all of us.
We Thought We Had Lost Adam Sandler
Back in early 2017, a website called LinkBeef started reporting that Adam Sandler had passed away. The only reason that anyone knew LinkBeef before this was because they'd started a few other false celebrity death hoaxes through the years, so no one should have believed it. But, the clever pranksters included some tricky details, like fake quotes by the Marin County Police Department and Sandler's supposedly heartbroken wife. And so, once more, we fell for it.
Luckily, it didn't take long for Sandler to come out of his staged death and clarify that all was well.
They Really Thought They Could Terminate the Terminator?
If you still haven't heard, don't worry; Arnold Schwarzenegger is just fine. A few years ago, it was reported that the movie star and former Governor of California had passed. However, the report was posted to MSMBC.co and not MSNBC.com. Do you see the difference? Well, at the time, few of us noticed the small but essential difference and fell for it - we thought Arny was gone.
We're not sure what made Schwarzenegger the target in this case. But we're just glad it all turned out to be fake.
Sean Penn's Fake Death by Murder
If there's one person that Sean Penn reminds us of, it's Sean Flynn. Errol Flynn's late son, a photojournalist who most likely passed away in Cambodia in the mid-70s after going missing and falling into the hands of the Khmer Rouge. He knew it was dangerous, but he wanted to photograph these militants and disappeared in the process. Sean Penn has undertaken a number of similar endeavors in recent years, which is why when reports came out that he'd died, not too many people were surprised.
The fake news reports stated that Penn had been murdered in his Malibu home after one of El Chapo's acquaintances had taken issue with Penn and El Chapo's interview. But the whole story turned out to be fake in the end.
Tanya Roberts's Publicist Confirmed the False News About Her Passing
Even if we don't know them personally, when a celebrity we love dies, it can profoundly affect us. That's why so many people were left reeling in early January 2021 when it was announced that Bond Girl and Donna's Mom from That 70's Show, Tanya Roberts, had passed away. Her manager and publicist confirmed the story, which led everyone to believe it was true. But, just a few hours later, they retracted it when they realized Tanya was still alive at the hospital.
Unfortunately, Roberts never left the hospital and did eventually pass a few days later.
Why Did MSNBC Say Bob Dylan Passed Away?
Nobody said being a journalist was going to be easy. One of the hardest things is that for every story you write, read, or produce, you need to ensure that all of your facts are correct. A false detail could shift the narrative even if you have a great story. For example, a few years ago, MSNBC reporters uncovered an awesome story about a trove of Bob Dylan documents being released.
However, they falsely reported in the story that the singer had passed the year prior, and that wound up being all anyone could talk about.
Even Congress Seemed to Be in on This One
Bob Hope was an American icon. His nineteen invitations to host the Academy Awards are the most of all time (by a lot), and all the years he spent in the USO entertaining American troops made him a hero in the eyes of many. Because of these contributions and the way Hope slowed down in his later years, some news networks wrote his obituary a few years early just to have it ready in case the worst happened.
Unfortunately, the worst did happen, and not in the way you're thinking. The obituary was published five years before Hope passed, and before the news network had time to retract the story, it was being read on the floor of the US House of Representatives.
Despite the Reports, Chevy Chase Is Still Here and Still Hilarious
As the TV show community came to a close in 2015, a number of people were trying to ride the show's last wave of popularity and squeeze any extra profits out of it that they could. So, a fake news website called Breaking 13 News published a false story claiming that Chevy Chase had passed away. Thankfully, the story was completely unfounded and was just meant to garner clicks. Still, it must have been a shock for Chase to wake up and find out he'd died.
By this point, Chase wasn't even a cast member of Community, the TV show. But that didn't stop this predatory website from trying to ride his coattails without doing any real work.
The Staged Reports Worked Extra Hard For Nicolas Cage
Do your best to follow along with us here because this false death report is one of the most ridiculous instances of the internet run amok that we've ever heard. Apparently, a "news" website decided they wanted to generate some clicks at Nicolas Cage's expense, so they created a fake headline claiming that he'd been killed in a motorcycle accident. But, to make sure no one really believed it, they put in the body of the article that Cage had actually just crashed a snowboard into a tree.
After that, other fake news sites ran with this obviously falsified story and attempted to draw some of the hype. One of them even added a picture of a motorcycle crash and a fake CNN chyron to try to convince people. But Cage came out soon after and put an end to the speculation that he'd passed.
If You Believed Every Report, Miley Has Died Several Times
Most of us grew up with Miley Cyrus. Back in the day, you could see her on daytime TV programs with her dad Billy Ray, and then, later on, she was everyone's sweetheart in Disney Channel's Hannah Montana. Still, for some reason, probably because she's so popular with such a wide range of audiences, a new hoax about Cyrus's death seems to pop up every three or four years without fail.
First, in 2008, reports came out saying that Cyrus had been killed in a hit-and-run accident. In 2009, speculation started without a specific cause of death named. Then, in 2016, reports came out saying she ODed. None of these reports were even close to true, however.
The BBC Is Not Getting Rid of Sean Kingston That Easily
Sean Kingston broke onto the scene with his song "Beautiful Girl" back in the day, which has spawned more remixes than we can count. But the biggest remix came in 2011 when the singer was recovering at home after a jet ski accident. Inexperience with his new equipment forced Kingston to make a mistake, and while riding with a passenger, he crashed his jet ski into a bridge. They were both fine, but the BBC took that opportunity to report that Kingston had died.
Twelve days after that accident, Kingston felt pain in his chest and went in to have emergency surgery and repair a torn aorta. So, he had some near-death experiences that month but didn't end up dying, as the BBC said.
If You Get To Be As Old As The Queen...
If you're in the public eye for as long as, and you get to be as old as, Queen Mother Elizabeth II, chances are that rumors are going to swirl about you one day. In the Queen's case, it seems like every few years; some fake news site tried to bank on a boost in clicks by falsely reporting her as being deceased (until she finally did pass away earlier this year, that is). It even happened with an American blog site earlier this year!
In that case, the blog site took the Palace's report that the Queen was dealing with a mild case of covid and rode that wave to get viewers to read a false report about her passing months before she eventually did.
Axl Rose Shuts Down Rumors Of His Passing
A few years ago, a fake news site took aim at Guns N Roses fans in order to try to generate clicks and some ad revenue. They created a false story claiming that Axl Rose, the band's frontman, had passed away. Even though the band hadn't been very active around the time of the announcement, fans were understandably shaken up. But Rose put an end to all of the speculations with a single tweet once he had the chance to read the story.
Rose turned to Twitter to refute these reports with typical rockstar nonchalance, saying: "If I'm dead, do I still have to pay taxes?"
Paul Is Allegedly Dead, And Has Been Since '66
The Beatles were the biggest celebrities on the planet for a few years. But, with that level of fame, you're also going to have to deal with a high level of scrutiny. One of the longest-running and strangest speculations about the supergroup, which you may have already heard before (it's a pretty famous one), is that Paul McCartney actually died in 1966, and his role has been filled by a doppelganger ever since.
There are a number of different pieces of evidence that people point to in order to support this theory. For one, Paul isn't wearing shoes on the Abbey Road cover. Also, some say you can hear John say, "Paul is dead. Miss him. Miss him" if you play A Day In The Life backward.
Why Is Everyone Always So Worried About Angelina Jolie's Kids?
Angelina Jolie has done just about every job there is in the movie industry, from actress to producer to writer and director. But, on top of all of that creative energy, she's also a mom. At first, she adopted a number of children but later became pregnant with babies of her own. Still, instead of just being happy for the actress that her family would be getting bigger, a number of people speculated Jolie was lying about the pregnancy.
Apparently, these people (who were by no means medical experts) thought that Jolie looked too skinny to be carrying twins when she had Knox and Vivienne. So, she must have been using a surrogate, right? Wrong!
Did Anyone Actually Believe This Hoax About Beyonce?
During a show in Brooklyn in 2016, Beyonce had a small wardrobe malfunction where her clothes became hooked onto one of her earrings. As she continued to dance, the earring was ripped out of her ear, and fans could see blood running down the side of the singer's face. Once backstage, Beyonce was able to get patched up and then finish the show. However, after the fact, some malicious troublemakers started a rumor that Beyonce had died after refusing to seek medical attention for the cut.
While, yes, if you couldn't clot the blood, this could kill you, or if it became seriously infected, this could kill you, but did anyone actually believe this hoax in the first place?
Eva Mendes Deserves A Break After These Fake Pregnancy Allegations
Every once in a while, people get a little too invested in the lives of celebrities. At the end of the day, what they're doing should not drastically affect your life. So, getting worked up when a Hollywood couple might split seems like a real waste of energy. Still, when it was rumored that Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling were pregnant together, a number of vindictive fans started a rumor that Mendes had faked the pregnancy just to keep her relationship.
Mendes was actually pregnant, but the couple was trying their best to keep the news under wraps so as not to cause undue stress to Mom or the baby.