Social media has erupted after a newspaper accidentally paid tribute to Spike Lee following the death of Marvel legend Stan Lee.
The Gisborne Herald, a newspaper on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, made the spectacular gaffe on its front page on Tuesday.
‘Spike Lee dies at 95’, a headline read, which was accompanied by a photo of Stan Lee.
Social media was sent into meltdown on Tuesday after The Gisborne Herald, a New Zealand newspaper, paid tribute to Spike Lee following the death of Marvel legend Stan Lee
Stan Lee (pictured), who revolutionised pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, died early Monday in Los Angeles
Spike Lee (pictured) is an American director known for movies such as BlacKkKlansman and Malcolm X. He is still alive, aged 61
Twitter users reacted to the front page gaffe, with comments including ‘There’s something different about Spike Lee but I can’t quite place’
Social media was sent into meltdown when readers picked-up the mistake and posted photos of the front page to Twitter.
‘Oh dear’, one wrote, while another said: ‘Three shocks this morning! Not only is Spike Lee dead!! He was also 95 and… WHITE!’.
‘There’s something different about Spike Lee but I can’t quite place it,’ another comment said.
One commentator even offered the proofreading services of her Marvel fan son and quipped the paper should have taken cues from the ‘top academics’ who were also featured on the front page.
‘How did you even? Perhaps if you had one of the ”top academics” proof read it for you, pretty sure they would all know the difference between a Stan and a Spike Lee!! My 16-year-old Marvel Fan is offering his services as a proof reader,’ they said.
The mistake was only limited to the front page however – on Page 12, which carried the full story of Stan Lee’s passing, he was referred to by his correct name.
Twitter users described the mistake as an ‘epic fail’ and one added: ‘Three shocks this morning! Not only is Spike Lee dead!! He was also 95 and… WHITE!’
The Gisborne Herald did have Stan Lee’s name correct on Page 12, which carried the full story of his passing
Stan Lee, who revolutionised pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, died on Monday.
The face of comic book culture in the United States passed away in Los Angeles after suffering a number of illnesses in recent years.
Stan Lee was declared dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to Kirk Schenck, an attorney for Lee’s daughter, J.C. Lee.
His death came just one day after he tweeted a photo of himself in his WWII uniform for Veterans’ Day.
As the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher, Stan Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book.
Stan Lee (pictured) was the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher and widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book
The dapper, friendly comic book genius continued to work into his 90s on numerous projects, including comics, films and DVDs. He is pictured above in 1990
He revived the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action craved by younger readers while insisting on sophisticated plots, college-level dialogue, satire, science fiction and even philosophy.
Spike Lee is still alive, aged 61. He is an American director known for movies such as BlacKkKlansman, Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing.
‘They didn’t do the right thing,’ one Twitter user wrote of The Gisborne Herald mistake, referencing the Do the Right Thing movie.