Nothing quite says "holiday season" like "celebrity coming out hoax." Thus, hopes were raised and then shattered this week thanks to a fake People magazine cover declaring Taylor Lautner to be "OUT & PROUD." The cover also featured a fake quote from the Twilight actor, saying, "I'm more liberated, and happier than I've ever been."
Zing! The Photoshopped cover made the usual internet rounds and even fooled Russell Simmons, who Tweeted congratulations to Lautner for his "bravery and courage." Unfortunately, a spokesperson for the magazine called the cover "absolutely fake," and People aficionados (do those exist?) will note that the sidebar headlines about Carnie Wilson and Brad Pitt are actually lifted from a 2006 cover. Sigh.
The hoax comes on the heels of gay rumors that have plagued Lautner since he had dinner that one time with noted homosexuals Dustin Lance Black and Gus Van Sant. It makes sense right? And, as we all know, nothing's more hilarious than a person coming out of the closet and being "happier than [they've] ever been."