Lena Horne Died Three Years Ago, Death Reported Yesterday By California Newspaper

Lena Horne, the singer, actress and Broadway star, was remembered with an obituary in the Sacramento Bee on Friday. The problem? Horne died exactly three years ago to the day.

The Sacramento Bee's faulty reporting caused a Twitter storm, with anguished fans of the late singer expressing their condolences. “Just learned Lena Horne passed away. Saddened. A legend. A true star,” one wrote. “Crying so hard. I didn’t know that her death would affect me like this!” said another.

However, there were Horne fans out there who remembered seeing the same headline a few years ago, and tried to set the record straight. “LISTEN UP: Today, May 10, marks the THIRD ANNIVERSARY of the death of Lena Horne. Got it? Third anniversary,” one fan tweeted in response. Another fan wrote, “Lena Horne died three years ago people. I’m judging you if you didn’t know that already.”

Horne signed a contract with MGM in 1943, and became the first black performer to have a long-term deal with a major studio. She went on to appear in a number of MGM’s musicals, most notably Cabin in the Sky in her first year with the studio. Due to the racial tensions of the time, her scenes in films were often cut, an injustice that influenced her activism in the Civil Rights movement

In the early 80s, Horne starred in a one-woman show on Broadway, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which earned her a special Tony Award and two Grammy Awards.

Horne died in New York City on May 9, 2010 from heart failure. Her funeral was attended by thousands, including Dionne Warwick, Chita Rivera, Lauren Bacall and Vanessa Williams.

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