Hollywood

Did officers with the U.S. Marshals service closely shadow President Joe Biden at the State of the Union address on March 7, 2024, and would the presence of the U.S. Marshals demonstrate that Biden is not the real president or that the man is not the real Joe Biden? No, that's not true: The president of the United States is…

Did American actress Angelina Jolie in 2024 call on the world to "unite against Israel"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence corroborating the claim. This phrase has been falsely attributed to Jolie since at least 2006, according to Lead Stories' research. That's 17 years before the current Hamas-Israel war began in 2023. The quote was not part…

Did Jennifer Lopez appear on TV with Dr. Oz to promote a weight-loss "Rice Hack"? No, that's not true: A promotion on Facebook contains old video footage of Lopez which has an altered audio track, putting words in the singer's mouth and there was also some deceptive editing that removed the context of what she said. In the scene from…

Did comedian Ellen DeGeneres and actor Tom Hanks pledge to move abroad if Donald Trump is elected president in 2024? No, that's not true: No credible news outlets have reported that. The claim was promoted, among others, by an online store selling T-shirts, a meme website and a parody account -- not by the official websites or social media accounts…

Did insurance companies Cigna and UnitedHealthcare add new text that denies health care if a person has been affected by a war in 2024? No, that's not true: This language has been included in Cigna's and UnitedHealthcare's insurance policies in the past. Lead Stories found multiple examples of this clause in policies during previous years. The claim appeared in a…

Did actor Kevin Spacey or writer Stephen King say that they would leave the United States if the "Epstein Client List" is made public? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that King or Spacey made such comments. The claim came from a fake Donald Trump account on X. Contrary to the post, a federal judge in a…

Does a video of a man collapsing in the street prove that his fall was staged for pro-Hamas propaganda and that it happened in Gaza in 2023? No, that's not true: The footage predates the 2023 Hamas-Israel war. Contrary to online speculations, it doesn't show an incident in Gaza -- it was filmed in the West Bank in 2015. Lead…

Did Sylvester Stallone say he won't work with Tom Hanks because "he weirds me out"? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a satirical website that has a history of fabricating content surrounding popular topics. The site carries a disclaimer that states, "Everything on this website is fiction." Lead Stories found no credible reports about what would be a…

Does a video circulating on social media show singer Stefani Germonotta, otherwise known as Lady Gaga, "becoming demonically possessed" during a live performance? No, that's not true: This video has been digitally altered. The original video, taken from a film made of her 2022 summer tour by her fan base, shows Gaga performing with her real eye color -- not…

Did actor Jason Statham install a Palestinian flag on his Jeep amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2023? No, that's not true: A close-up picture from a video included in the claim clearly shows that the man in it is not Statham, a well-known Hollywood actor. Statham has not made any public comments about the Hamas-Israel conflict as of this writing.…