Within just a short time after posting "Tripping Through Twitterland" over the Easter holiday weekend, I was inundated with comments and e-mails stating that @millerwentworth posing as actor Wentworth Miller on Twitter is a fake, as presumably are the other so-called cast members from "Prison Break" (PB) that follow (or followed) each other on Twitter, as well as the so-called "official" username for the TV show (@pbofficial).
Early Monday morning (April 13), I did a quick Google search for Miller's handlers and faxed a letter to his publicist at PMK/HBH. I copied the letter via fax to his attorney and emailed a copy to Twitter. In the letter, I asked the publicist for a confirmation that Wentworth Miller is actually sending Tweets with the @millerwentworth username. If not, my letter stated, then the parties should take appropriate action to end this elaborate fraud taking place as it is an insult to PB fans (including myself) throughout the world.
I asked Miller's agent Jennifer Allen for a brief statement for my blog to set the record straight, but I have had no reply from her (or Miller's attorney) as of press time.
At around 12:00 Noon PDT on April 13, I noticed that earlier posts from @AmauryNolasco, posing as PB star Amaury Nolasco, disappeared from my Twitter. I thought to myself, "Oh, maybe someone finally shut this scam down." When I clicked on his profile, I received “That page doesn’t exist!" I then tried accessing the profile for @millerwentworth and also received the same message. @pbofficial is still up, but since all of these fake people were following each other, it has to be a fake too.
Needless to say, it is also highly likely that Dominic Purcell(@DominicTweets) was also a fake since he was following and being followed by the fake "Wentworth Miller." DominicTwets' postings, however, actually had me convinced weeks ago that he was the real deal because of family photos he was posting via Twitpic. It just seemed so authentic. My thinking at the time was, if he was real, so were the co-stars.
Playing short-term practical jokes or an April Fool's prank is fine, but the ongoing stunt of one person (or maybe a group of people) impersonating several actors isn't funny. It's an outright fraud, plain and simple, and should have been shut down a lot sooner.
People in Twitterland should take responsibility for the community by sending complaints to support@twitter.com when things just don't look right. Twitter obviously can't monitor everyone in the community 24/7, so it's up to the common folk (like me) and others to take action to keep the Twitter community as real as possible.
A shout out and thanks to those of you who contacted me on this issue.
Posts
2 comments:
I too was appalled at the fake Wentworth Miller's fraud.
However, I don't think Twitter can do anything, because there ARE some REAL celebs on twitter, so I suppose they just assumed the "Wentworth Miller" they had was the real deal. I don't think the onus is on Twitter anyway to investigate, the onus is on the star's people and the star himself/herself to investigate.
Of course people like US can help the star by informing the star or his/her peeps whenever "fakes" seem to appear and are inauthentic. But I can't hold Twitter responsible, when anyone and everyone, normal people and celebs alike, can register an account and twit away, it's SUPPOSED to be that simple.
Unless it's well known that a celebrity has their own website, Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter account DON'T BELIEVE IT. It's "buyer beware", people.
When it comes to Wentworth, he's stated that he's aware that people have imitated him for years (he specifically mentions Myspace), and he's also said he has neither the time nor money to track down all the fakes out there. (http://www.prisonbreakbuff.com/2007/01/04/sorry-wentworth-is-not-on-myspace/)
Post a Comment