Sunday, March 18, 2007


Rumors Hurt

I had a rare opportunity to see a disc jockey attempting to verify a rumor that was circulating on March 15th. This rumor simply stated that Sinbad the Comedian had died of a heart attack. David Adkins, who uses the stage name Sinbad, is an American stand up comedian and actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing on several television series and starring in the feature films House Quest (1995), First Kid and Jingle All the Way (both 1996).
I was preparing to go on air at a popular radio station to discuss my books and company when the lines blew up about Sinbad. I watched the lady jock call other radio stations, venues that he was signed up to perform, and watched news show...she did everything she could to verify this, never once announcing it.

Folks blew the station phones off the hook. She said it could not be confirmed. I called Sinbad's cousin, my secretary and she said it was not true. I told the DJ, right before my on-air interview. I just received a very nice email from her thanking me for an accurate confirmation. Still though, my secretary and her family as a whole began to go through this hoax two days before, and they were very upset because his daughter had to seek her dad out and contact other family members to say it was not true. They don't know why the rumor/lie restarted again. Who ever did that really upset his family and that was wrong....

It is so easy to start rumors and they can be so hurtful to the person the rumor is about, their family members and their friends. I was impressed that the DJ did not give out inaccurate information and I was very happy that Sinbad was still alive.

13 comments:

Clare said...

I'm glad Sinbad is okay Rose and that you were able to verify that the rumours were not true. What kind of a person could be so mean as to start such an awful rumour? I mean surely they knew it wasn't true, right?

Anonymous said...

After the sudden death of Gerald Levert, I think that "storers of information" are more than on the ready to be the first on the spot when something goes wrong. As I read it, Wilkepedia was ground zero for this rumour due to the fact that anyone can edit and update their information....
Kudos for staying grounded and not subscribing to the hype!

Rose said...

I was glad too. Some people are mean especially when they do something like this. I was glad the DJ proved to be a person who sought out the truth rathered than to just make an announcement, and than retract it later.

Rose said...

I don't understand why a resource would allow anyone to edit their resources, that takes away the validation of that source. Still his daughter and other relatives actually confirmed that this was a hoax. For this DJ, my secretary was the real person who confirmed it, I just passed the information to her. I just knew that had he died, she would have called me.

Miz JJ said...

People need to stop announcing stuff without solid proof. That DJ was responsible, but many others, unfortunately, are not.

Stephen A. Bess said...

Yes, I heard how Wikepedia had it on their website as well. That could've been untrue as well. Who knows?? I happy he's alive though.

The Brown Blogger said...

And I'm hoping this gets his agent's phone ringing...

I miss the brother in the spotlight.

Luke Cage said...

Incredible miss Rose. Vicious rumors just like that 80's song by Timex Social Club can be cruel. Especially when folks are quick to believe them without proof. That happened not to long ago to Jaleel White or Urkel fame. Very sad, but I'm so glad that it was a rumor. Sinbad's Afros and Bell bottoms is one of the funniest standups I've ever seen in my life! Hi miss Rose!

Dr. Deb said...

I am a huge Sinbad fan. I have nearly worn out my Afros and Bellbottoms CD. I think it was so meanspirited to write such a thing on the internet.

TJ said...

I think it really gained momentum with Wikipedia. I guess that's the downfall of having reader added content. I had not even known that there was a rumor until I read about the Wikipedia thing. I'm glad it's false, but sad to see that unconfirmed information STILL spreads like wildfire.

E said...

How do rumors get started? They got started by the jealous people.

Glad that Sinbad's ok. It's amazing how rumors take a life of their own.

K said...

Regarding the Wikipedia, from the interview Sinbad did on Tom Jones, they took it off more than once and people (or one sad person) kept putting it back on there. Ridiculous.

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