Morgan Freeman has long been the unwilling subject of internet hoaxes, ranging from false quotes to death rumors, and now that the media is being targeted for the way the Newtown, Connecticut shootings were handled, he is now the talk of the web regarding a fake interview.
Freeman is “quoted” as saying the media is mostly to blame for copycat crimes, because of the way they publicize those who perpetrate such heinous acts, like the Newtown and Aurora, Colorado shootings.
“It’s because of the way the media reports it,” the statement read. “Turn on the news and see how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single ‘victim’ of Columbine?”
The statement goes on to talk about the fact that the media overexposes the public to these people, which can lead to other disturbed individuals causing tragedies of their own in order to become famous rather than die as a “nobody”. Some might agree with that assessment, but Freeman’s rep says he never made those statements at all and are currently trying to track down where the false quotes originated from.