Terry Gilliam’s fans responded to the incorrect news that the popular director had died as only true Monty Python fans would.
Vanity Fair apologised on Tuesday after mistakenly publishing an obituary for the Monty Python star with the headline: 'Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, Director of Brazil, dies at XXX’.
The obituary had been shared thousands of times by late Tuesday evening.
"Director Terry Gilliam, the only American member of the Monty Python comedy troupe and an Oscar nominee for the screenplay to his film Brazil, has died,” it read.
"Gilliam directed 12 feature films, often with baroque or surreal themes, including Time Bandits, Brazil and The Fischer King. His films inspired intense reactions; several were cult classics with devoted followings, but they were generally flawed enough to inspire loathing from those not on the same bawdy, anarchical comedy wavelength."
The magazine issued a hasty response as soon as they realised their mistake, causing relieved fans to inform twitter the 74-year-old was alive and well through the medium of Monty Python jokes and references, including, “he’s not dead, he’s resting”.
CORRECTION: Variety incorrectly published an article stating that director Terry Gilliam passed away. We're deeply sorry for the mistake.
; Variety (@Variety) September 8, 2015
Monty Python's Terry Gilliam is not dead. He's resting... he's stunned... he's pining for the fjords.
; Mark Humphries (@humphriesmark) September 8, 2015
Variety has downgraded Terry Gilliam from dead to "merely a flesh wound".
; Will McAvoy (@WillMcAvoyACN) September 8, 2015
Terry Gilliam is not - I REPEAT, NOT - a dead parrot, nor has he joined the bleeding choir eternal.
; Liberal Librarian (@Lib_Librarian) September 8, 2015
Sad to hear that Terry Gilliam has been squashed by a giant foot.
; Moose Allain (@MooseAllain) September 8, 2015
How dare you "kill off" Terry Gilliam, random internet person? Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.
; Michelle Milliken (@MichelleyM) September 9, 2015
Upon seeing the article, Gilliam apologised for being dead to any fans who had purchased tickets for his upcoming shows, and claimed Vanity Fair had misled readers about his age.
I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING DEAD especially to those who have already bought tickets to the upcoming talks, but, Variety has...
Posted by Terry Gilliam on Wednesday, 9 September 2015
Luckily, Gilliam has seen the funny side of it all.
