Posted on 02/28/2009 12:19:58 PM PST by nickcarraway
To the 2,495 people who are following Maya Angelou* on Twitter, prepare for some bad news: This caged bird is a fake.
The tweeting Angelou was revealed as a fraud today by her representative at Lordly & Dame, the Boston-based speaking agency. Her agent, David LaCamera, said he had reached out to Twitter when the bogus account first came to his attention a few weeks ago, but he received no satisfaction.
"It’s sad that this even goes on in our society," LaCamera said. "But anyone who reads it and knows her goes, 'Who the hell wrote this?' "
Not so fast, sir. We are not all as intimate with High Verse as you. The less discerning eye may see no reason to be suspicious of such poetic tweets as, "I am very sad. My friends are few... but my words runneth over," or, "I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself," or even, "It is as important to love ourselves as much as the world around us."
What did LaCamera have against any of those uplifting sentiments?
"Let’s put it this way," he said. "It’s sophomoric versus doctoral."
Touche. But did the real Angelou know of her impostor?
"The funny thing is that even someone of her stature," he said, "although she speaks eight languages, she’s not necessarily very fluent in computerese. When she became aware of it, she basically shook her head."
Hear that, fake Angelou? Your few weeks of borrowed glory may now be coming to a close, but take heart! At least you speak computerese....
Updated, Feb. 26, 8:48 a.m.: The owner of the @mayaangelou Twitter account has posted an audio reply to this post, claiming she is indeed the genuine article:
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
another shuck n jiver.
lol@wav audio.
“why hello, this is dr maya angelou, and I would like you make a statement. you may have seen some allegations regarding my authenticity in the la times. let me assure you, my publicist does not monitor my online life, nor does he discourage me from reaching my public audience by whichever means necessary. thank you, and have a blessed day”
LOL!
lol
I know im wrong, bigoted, narrow minded, etc,,,, but “twitter” is the gayest sounding name ive ever heard.
“Do you twitter?” is what id expect to hear said after some guy tapped his shoe at someone in the restroom.
Hey...for my money, the real Maya Angelou is a fraud as well. But that’s just me.
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