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My email box burns with the Morgan Freeman rumor. Do you think the story that esteemed actor Morgan Freeman, 72, allegedly intends to marry his step-daughter, E'Dena Hines, age 27, after having an affair with her for the last 10 years is true? That would mean the affair began when the young woman was 17. Spokespeople for the actor deny the allegations. It does, after all, come from the National Enquirer. Putting all caps here would be rude, so, bear with me. Whisper this word wherever you are. Let it sink in: Rumor
Would your feelings about the actor change if the story turned out to be fact? Is it anybody's business but his who he loves? If the story is true at all, remember that the young lady's not related by blood but by family trust.
There's a showbiz saying that "there's no such thing as bad publicity." I'm not sure that's true when it comes to rumors that a respected, elderly actor has been boinking a girl who is like a granddaughter to him, blood or not, a girl he helped raise.
With only one anonymous source giving them information, the National Enquirer has set fire to Freeman's legacy and career, as in possibly sending him down in flames in the eyes of fans, potential sponsors, and movie producers. Multiple gossip sites like Babble, Perez Hilton, and Bitten & Bound quickly added wood to the sordid tale of alleged incest.
And then a "mainstream" portal, an arm of the corporate giant Microsoft, MSN, which partners with MSNBC, doused the rumor with additional fuel on July 27. It linked to the story on its main page, according to ABC's Memphis TV station, WPTY. Furthermore, MSN has a link asking for discussion on its Facebook page.
WPTY Memphis, which is about two hours from Freeman's hometown, Clarksdale, Miss., reports that the MSN link may make Daryl Bell, the managing editor of the Clarksdale Press Register, and the paper's staff rethink its earlier position that Freeman's alleged affair with his step-granddaughter is not newsworthy.
"We haven't touched on it," says Daryl Bell with the Press Register, "but that may change in the next 24-hours. We'll decide then if we're going to take it from there." (quote source WPTY)
This is the way news has been done for years. Either a small town source writes a story and does homework on all the facts and a mainstream news outlet picks it up after being convinced the facts are correct, or a big, mainstream outlet reports a story and a small town news outlet assumes it's true. We tend to assume that if a big corporation or mega-media outlet shares news then that news is credible. But I'm not convinced an MSN link is credible, especially since MSN presents the story as rumor for discussion.
When it comes to celebrity news, news outlets are sometimes lazier about verifying information--sifting fact from rumor--because public figures are easy targets. They have less protection from libel and slander. In addition, it's hard to disprove some types of stories. The common care taken by the press is to use words like "alleged," and, in a quest for sales and ratings, they let the chips fall where they may. However, celebrities are still human and most humans feel hurt when people tell lies about them or share true but dirty secrets.
According to the the Memphis station and other sources:
E'Dena Hines is the biological granddaughter of Freeman's first wife. She was raised by the actor and his second wife, Myrna. Hines attended several Hollywood events with Freeman, including last year's premiere of The Dark Knight.
It seems from news sources that during his first marriage Freeman adopted E'Dena's mother, who is the daughter of his first wife, Jeanette Adair Bradshaw. How it is that Freeman and his second wife, Myrna, ended up supposedly raising E'Dena remains unclear.
Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee (pictured) are in the midst of a "bitter," high-stakes divorce after a 25-year marriage, report news sources. E'Dena would have been about two when Freeman and Myrna married. It's possible this story gained traction not only from the divorce but also from the actor having the young woman
