Iceland's most read newspaper Fréttablaðið was taken for a rather embarrassing ride today. The paper published a bizarre story of a teenage girl in Borgarnes town, West Iceland, claiming that her father was, unbeknown to him, The Rocky Horror Show's author Richard O'Brian.
The girl, Margrét Vera Mánadóttir, explained to the journalist that she is rehearsing for her high school's production of The Rocky Horror, where she will play the part of Riff Raff, the same role that her alleged father became famous for almost forty years ago.
Mom and her friend went to London in the beginning of 1997, where she met Richard O'Brien, the author of Rocky Horror and who played Riff Raff in the film, Margrét Vera told Fréttablaðið and added: I've tried to get in touch with him but I get no response. Mom says that it's pointless to try, but I want try anyway … I would be very grateful if anyone who reads this either knows him or can help me get in touch with him
That this was surfacing at the same time as Margrét's school is staging The Rocky Horror Show probably should have set off some alarm bells. Regrettably for Fréttablaðið it did not. The paper put the story on the front page and a longer version inside the paper.
At noon, however, Margrét had admitted the story was a total fabrication, a publicity stunt for the premier of the musical, leaving Fréttablaðið with an egg on its face.
We can only imagine the jubilation of Margrét and her pals at the local high school when the first copies of Fréttablaðið was delivered in the small West Iceland town this morning. A large part of the nation now knows that The Rocky Horror Show will open on Friday at the Borgarnes high school (Menntaskólinn í Borgarnesi).
Iceland's most read newspaper Fréttablaðið was taken for a rather embarrassing ride today. The paper published a bizarre story of a teenage girl in Borgarnes town, West Iceland, claiming that her father was, unbeknown to him, The Rocky Horror Show's author Richard O'Brian.
The girl, Margrét Vera Mánadóttir, explained to the journalist that she is rehearsing for her high school's production of The Rocky Horror, where she will play the part of Riff Raff, the same role that her alleged father became famous for almost forty years ago.
Mom and her friend went to London in the beginning of 1997, where she met Richard O'Brien, the author of Rocky Horror and who played Riff Raff in the film, Margrét Vera told Fréttablaðið and added: I've tried to get in touch with him but I get no response. Mom says that it's pointless to try, but I want try anyway … I would be very grateful if anyone who reads this either knows him or can help me get in touch with him
That this was surfacing at the same time as Margrét's school is staging The Rocky Horror Show probably should have set off some alarm bells. Regrettably for Fréttablaðið it did not. The paper put the story on the front page and a longer version inside the paper.
At noon, however, Margrét had admitted the story was a total fabrication, a publicity stunt for the premier of the musical, leaving Fréttablaðið with an egg on its face.
We can only imagine the jubilation of Margrét and her pals at the local high school when the first copies of Fréttablaðið was delivered in the small West Iceland town this morning. A large part of the nation now knows that The Rocky Horror Show will open on Friday at the Borgarnes high school (Menntaskólinn í Borgarnesi).
