Jerry Lee Lewis is alive after his death was falsely reported

On Wednesday, US publication TMZ falsely reported that the 87-year-old musician had died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee. The outlet stated they regretted their error and said: ‘Today we were told by someone claiming to be Lewis’ rep that he had passed. That turned out not to be the case.’The proper representative of Mr Lewis confirmed to Page Six that the singer was alive.They said: ‘TMZ reported erroneously off of a bulls–t anonymous tip.’The Sun has also reported that Zach Farnum, the publicist for Mr Lewis has declined to comment on the state of the musician’s health, but expressed that his team was not happy about the error.When asked if Mr Lewis was aware his death had been wrongly reported, Mr Farnum sighed and said: ‘I think so’. Jerry Lee Lewis is alive and well despite an earlier media report claiming the rock legend had died. (Image: Getty Images) TMZ falsely reported that the 87-year-old musician had died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee (Image: Getty Images)On Twitter, some fans of the rockstar have joked about the situation, while others have criticised the publication for the false report.One user joked: ‘Jerry Lee Lewis medical update, condition upgraded to ‘alive.”Another fan described the situation as a ‘Great Balls of Failure’, a reference to Mr Lewis’s signature song ‘Great Balls of Fire’, which is one of the best-selling singles of all time.While some people were more critical and said: ‘I’m just going to start contacting TMZ claiming to be random celebrity’s rep, claiming they died. Sounds as if they don’t bother checking facts.’Underneath TMZ’s post correcting their mistake, someone replied: ‘You guys might want to get something like that right.’READ MORE: Just Stop Oil protesters blasted as ‘time wasting professionals’ Lewis had asked Kris Kristofferson to receive the Country Music Hall of Fame award on his behalf (Image: Getty Images)Earlier this month, Mr Lewis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to being sick with the flu.Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, described the legendary musician as ‘an unquestioned pillar of both country music and rock and roll, There’s no entertainer like him.’On Facebook, Mr Lewis expressed his ‘heartfelt sadness and disappointment’ at not being able to attend the ceremony in person.Mr Lewis said: ‘Since I could not be in-person with you today, I have asked one of my closest and dearest friends to accept this great honour for me – and he’s no stranger to this process: the legendary, Kris Kristofferson.’The singer’s sister, Linda Gail Lewis, also posted on Facebook: ‘Please pray for my dear brother.’She said: ‘He’s going thru a hard time and needs our prayers and positive thoughts right now. Thank you so much.’DON’T MISS:  Royal fans full of praise for Kate’s Antarctic mission [INSIGHT]Russian troops leave thousands of documents behind at abandoned base [REPORT]Democrats go into damage control after Fetterman’s TV clash with Oz [REVEAL] Nicknamed The Killer, Mr Lewis is considered one of the pioneers of rock music. (Image: Getty Images)Nicknamed The Killer, Mr Lewis is considered one of the pioneers of rock music.Elvis Presley once said if he could play the piano like Mr Lewis, he could stop singing.He has been named as an influence by both Beatles’ Paul McCartney and Rolling Stone’s Mick Jagger, who said that Mr Lewis had ‘introduced the world to a whole new level of showmanship’.The rockstar is rumoured to have once set his piano on fire in 1958 while at a concert, in order to get a reaction from Chuck Berry.It’s said that Mr Lewis poured gas from a Coke bottle onto his piano and set it alight, much to the delight of the crowd.As he walked off stage, he reportedly found a stunned Mr Berry and reportedly said: ‘Follow that, Chuck.’