Tony Scott
Famed producer and director Tony Scott (Top Gun, True Romance) committee suicide on Sunday, and Monday morning ABC News had a big exclusive: Scott had inoperable brain cancer, and it was likely a factor in his decision to kill himself.
The one problem: the coroner says that Scott did not have brain cancer, or any type of cancer. Deadline.com broke the news, and ABC owned and operated station KABC confirmed it:
The family of director Tony Scott, who died Sunday after jumping off a Los Angeles bridge, was not aware Scott had cancer, Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told ABC News station KABC in Los Angeles.
ABC News was unable to reach Scott’s family to confirm the assistant chief coroner’s statement.
It is the second high profile mistake ABC News has made in the last month or so. When the Aurora shooting happened, ABC News investigative correspondent Brian Ross reported that the shooter may have been associated with a Tea Party group. As it happened, it was just someone with a similar name. ABC News would very publicly apologize for the error, and vowed to ensure similar mistakes wouldn’t happen.
Update: ABC says it is trying to reach the family to confirm, and that if the brain cancer information is incorrect, “ABC News will issue a full retraction and apology.”
ABC News continues to report the most recent facts on ABCNews.com, including our previous reporting and the conflicting statement from the coroner. ABC News is attempting to reach Scott’s family to confirm the assistant chief coroner’s statement. After speaking with the family or a representative of the family we will update our reporting accordingly. If it comes to light at that time that incorrect information was reported, ABC News will issue a full retraction and apology.