Update: Tom Petty died peacefully on 2nd October at 8:40 p.m. PST according to a statement from the singer's long-time manager and friend, Tony Dimitriades.
This story was originally published 2nd October at 10:30 p.m. EST.
Iconic musician Tom Petty shocked the world when he went into cardiac arrest and wound up in the hospital in critical condition on Monday. The turmoil surrounding the events was further intensified when outlets such as CBS News initially reported Petty had died. Such reports have since been corrected, but it appears Petty's daughter, Annakim Violette, is not yet ready to forgive news sites for prematurely pulling the plug on her father's life.
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A searing critique of Rolling Stone appeared on the Instagram account @dadlivesmatteronelove, which is widely associated with Annakim, on Monday evening. The post features a grinning Petty on past Rolling Stone cover with the following caption:
"@rollingstone my dad is not dead yet but your fucking magazine is. your slime has been pieces of tabloid dog shit. You put the worst artists on your covers and do zero research. How dare you report that my father has died just to get press because your articles and photos are so dated. I will fucking shit down your throat and your family's. Try not being a trump vibe. This is my father not a celebrity. An artist and a human being. Fuck u."
Her post, though harsh, highlights an important piece on journalistic integrity and error. In a world of breaking news , it's easy to report something based off information allegedly obtained by other outlets. Often, the act is not intended to be harmful or malevolent, and is rather an oversight in an effort to get the story first. But as demonstrated today, hasty publishing can be incredibly hurtful.
Despite such reports, Annakim has seemingly been holding her head high. Throughout the day, she's provided updates and sweet memories on her Instagram account. In one post, she wrote that Petty's band the Heartbreakers had joined her in the hospital. In others, she reflected on the first song her father ever taught her to play on the guitar ("96 Tears") and how "surreal" it was to wake up to see her dad's music videos on MTV.
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As of now, LAPD has told Refinery29, "Unfortunately, [the news] was inadvertently given out...we have no investigative role, so we unfortunately have no information."
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