Hollywood unlocked, a Hollywood gossip site, sparked huge internet controversy after its founder Jason Lee worryingly announced on February 22, 2022 the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The site, mainly focused around showbiz gossip, rarely ventures into current affairs, but the site’s founder Jason Lee stood by his ‘sources’ saying, “We don’t post lies and I always stand by my sources. Waiting for an official statement from the palace.”
Soon, official word was given that the Queen was in fact not dead and instead recovering from mild ‘cold-like’ Covid-19 symptoms, causing her to cancel her virtual engagements.
But Lee could be cashing out big time from the ‘Queen Elizabeth dead’ trend. One reason is that, because of the magnitude of the claim, the site would have seen a remarkable increase in traffic since it published the story on Tuesday.
More traffic on websites, many times, means more people seeing the adverts on the website and possible increased interaction with the ads – revenue. The page featuring the Queen story currently features pay per click adverts on its header, footer, side and center.
Visitors going to the site for the first time are likely to check out other pages, seeking precedents, and means of testing the website’s trustworthiness — page views.
If the claim ever turns out to be true, Lee’s website rating and reputation will definitely rise geometrically and many who have visited for the very first time will most likely stay on — retained audience.
The down side, however, is if the rumor becomes sufficiently dismissed, Hollywood Unlocked will lose customers.
According to siteprice.org, a website worth and domain value calculator, hollywoodunlocked.com is estimated to currently worth $ 23,141, with 3,200 unique visitors. That could change depending on whatever eventually happens to the Queen Elizabeth dead rumor.
Read also: Queen Elizabeth tests positive for COVID-19, with mild symptoms
Who is Jason Lee?
Jason Lee is a 43-year-old blogger and is the founder and CEO of Hollywood Unlocked, a gossip blog which was established in 2015.
With over 500k followers on Instagram, Lee is regularly pictured with some of showbiz’s biggest names, most recently Floyd Mayweather and Amber Rose.
Lee has previously commented on his hard childhood, which saw him growing up in the foster care system in Stockton, California while his mother battled drug addiction.
In an episode of reality TV show Love & Hip Hop, he opened up on the 1997 fatal shooting of his brother.
After a public fallout with ViacomCBS, Lee announced that his contract with the network which produces the show had been terminated.
A video of Beyoncé gently avoiding Jason during the Roc Nation pre-Grammy lunch appeared online in summer 2021. While she clearly walked away from him, he made an unsubtle play for her attention.
Body-positivity activists called him out in 2020 for fat-shaming Lizzo. He joked about Tyra Banks’ weight increase on his radio show before comparing her to the Good As Hell singer. “I’m thick and juicy,” was the editor’s response when asked about his own figure.
He wasted no time starting fights while on Love & Hip Hop as he exposed an affair and quickly ignited a rivalry with Hazel-E after pouring a drink in her face.
The gossip blogger also was at the centre of a feud when he obtained a copy of a private sex tape of Moniece Slaughter and Lil’ Fizz
Undeterred by news his Queen Elizabeth demise story was wrong, he doubled down, stating “I’ve never been wrong”.
