Morgan Freeman denies making statement about school shooting

LOS ANGELES - Reuters

Morgan Freeman. AFP photo

Oscar winnig actor Morgan Freeman said on Sunday that he did not issue a statement blaming the media for sensationalizing the Newtown School shootings that left 20 children and several adults dead.

Freeman added that he never made or posted the statement that became a Facebook and Internet sensation, saying it was a hoax.

His publicist Stan Rosenfield told TheWrap that the actor's camp was trying to determine the origin of the hoax statement.

"It's because of the way the media reports it," the phony statement read in part. "Turn on the news and see how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single 'victim' of Columbine?

"Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basement see the news and want to top it by doing something worse and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster instead of a sad nobody."

The hoax statement also takes CNN to task over its use of the phrase "body count" in relation to the Newtown shootings and said the news coverage would incite more killings.