Hollywood

Did comedian Mo'Nique testify during the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2025? No, that's not true: That claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled the claim "fictional". Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any testimony by her. The rumor appeared in a May 19, 2025, video on YouTube (archived…

Is there evidence that music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs divulged, in testimony, that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attended "Communist Party Freak Off" parties, as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: The post appeared while Combs was on trial in federal court in Manhattan on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. But Combs had not testified at…

Has actor Will Smith died as of March 25, 2025? No, that's not true: Smith appeared alive in Philadelphia to celebrate the naming of a street in his childhood neighborhood "Will Smith Way" on March 26, 2025. A social media post on a Facebook group page created just a day earlier included a photo from an unrelated 2022 car crash…

Does a picture show a destroyed star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that was dedicated to actress Gal Gadot? No, that's not true: The image shows the star for President Donald Trump shortly after it was destroyed in 2018. As of this writing, there have been no news reports about Gadot's recently unveiled star being destroyed. An example of…

Did President Donald Trump's adviser Alina Habba discover a hidden "fake Oval Office" used by former President Joe Biden? No, that's not true: There is nothing secret or hidden about the constructed Oval Office set. It is the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower building and has been used by multiple presidents, including Trump. Habba implied she discovered the "fake…

Did Gene Hackman vow to "corroborate everything in the Epstein client list" in an X.com post a year before his death? No, that's not true: The user name seen in the purported February 2024 tweet does not exist and there is no indication online the 95-year-old actor was active on the social media platform in recent years. While no "client…

Hollywood star Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26, 2025, and people are alleging that it was an "double suicide." Here is what we know: Oscar-winner Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were all found in different locations in their home and had apparently been dead for some time.…

Did Carrie Underwood win a billion-dollar defamation lawsuit against "The View" or did she even sue them? No, that's not true: The story alleging there was a lawsuit involving comments on "The View" about Underwood's performance at President Trump's inauguration was put out by a number of clickbait channels on YouTube, but it was not backed up by any sources…

Did the actor and film director Ron Howard write an essay on why "I'm a liberal," enumerating 16 key beliefs? No, that's not true: The original 2018 essay, written in the form of an open letter, was published by author Lori Gallagher Witt. Her Facebook post went viral and has since been subjected to several unauthorized revisions and misattributions. In…

Did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum address President Donald Trump in a speech about "7 billion consumers ready to replace" their American products and vacations with non-American ones? No, that's not true: Lead Stories could not find any evidence that Sheinbaum ever said that to Trump, let alone publicly. Neither the website of the Mexican government nor Google News, among other…