Monday, February 9, 2015

Before Lyin' Brian Williams was outed, I tagged Apparently Lyin' Luke Bryan for dubious choking rescue claim published by People Country magazine [UPDATE: Jim Romenesko picks up my item]

2/10/15 UPDATE: Media watchdog Jim Romenesko picked up my "Lyin' Bryan?" item.


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Via the October 2012 issue of People Country magazine:


Here are my items to date about my unsuccessful attempts to verify Bryan's claim:

September 23, 2012: Who's the "mystery friend" that rescued Nashville singing star Luke Bryan from choking? His people won't tell me and the editor of People Country -- the magazine that broke the story -- isn't interested

November 8, 2012: Was country music star Luke Bryan lyin' about being rescued from choking? Not even his mother will back up the story

January 29, 2013: Nashville singer Luke Bryan's managers refuse to back up his "Heimlich choking rescue" story -- and an invitation to reporters to slice this baloney

August 29, 2013: Was Billboard #1 singer Luke Bryan lyin' about being saved in a dramatic choking rescue? He won't answer me, so any reporters or fans want to ask him? Here's his tour schedule and contact info

Obviously I don't have the swat to get an answer from Team Bryan, so along the way I've sent the information to reporters in Nashville and elsewhere. To my knowledge, no one has followed-up.

What happens next?

A. Nothing.

B. A journalist asks Team Bryan for the who/what/where/when, perhaps contacts me for a reaction comment, and reports the results.

C. Someone writes him a "Dear Luke" fan letter asking him the following questions, forwards the correspondence to me, and I blog the results:
- What was the date of the choking incident?
- What's the name and location of the pizza restaurant?
- What's the name of your friend who performed the Heimlich maneuver?
- Based on your description ("I went down"), did you lose consciousness?
- Did you subsequently seek medical care? If so, what's the name of the doctor who examined you?
Re: options B and C, here are the offices of Red Light Management, based in Charlottesville, VA, the entertainment company that handles Bryan.

source