Gotye Statement: 'I'm Not Dead' -- Contradicts CNN Report He Committed Suicide

In the latest round of fake death reports, Australian singer-songwriter Gotye was forced to deny reports of his early demise. However, unlike the usual daily dose of Twitter rumors which get quickly shot down, CNN picked up on the speculation and ran a news item.

According to NME, CNN placed the news item on its iReport program that the singer killed himself from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. "At 4:32 AM EST, it was reported that Gotye had shot himself in the head with a 9mm handgun," the statement read. "He was pronounced dead at 4:45AM, and the investigation concluded that the cause of death was suicide."

"I'm not dead. #Pinkalbumtitles," Gotye tweeted yesterday in response. The item was quickly removed from CNN when the organization realizing the obvious mistake.
The gaffe was great fodder for Tim Shiel, a touring member of Gotye's band.

"it saddens me to confirm the news of @gotye's passing – he suffered cardiac arrest while flying a unicorn over a double rainbow," Shiel said in a series of tweets. "don't panic the @gotye world tour is still going ahead, with special guest Terence Trent D'Arby. Its what wally would have wanted."

Gotye's birth name is Wouter "Wally" De Backer. The D'Arby reference is a cheeky zing directed towards fellow Aussies INXS, who at one point hired D'Arby to replace Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997.

Shiel later added "ghost of @gotye just appeared and together we banged out a script for the pilot episode of quirky new sitcom GHOSTYE. just fyi i'm going to use 'its what wally would have wanted' to justify doing all kinds of weird shit in the next couple of days."

Gotye's next couple shows are set for the Super!Sonic Festival in Seoul, South Korea on Aug. 15 before playing Japan's Summer Sonic a few days later. North American and European dates are also in the cards for later this year before a string of Australian dates in December. The musician is still touring his 2011 album Making Mirrors.

Watch Gotye's "Easy Way Out" Video

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