Lydia Tar, the fictional character, has been at the center of a death hoax following a rumor that she died at the Oscars, but is she even a real person?
Tar, the feature film starring Cate Blanchett in the titular role, was nominated for six Oscars this year, including Best Picture and Best Actress, but came home with no wins. The movie is about the downfall of a prominent American composer called Lydia Tar.
Since the award ceremony, which took place at Los Angeles’s Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 12, 2023, a rumor that Lydia Tar died has spread online.
Is Lydia Tar a real person?
First things first, Lydia Tar, the composer in the film, is not a real person, nor is the film explicitly based on any existing female composer. Lydia Tar is an entirely fictional character.
However, many people confuse the character for a real person and the film for a biopic, likely due to the way it was marketed.
The official synopsis, for example, lends itself to the idea that Tar is real: “The film, set in the international world of classical music, centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.”
Satirical Twitter account poses as the composer
A Twitter account called @LydiaTarReal may also be a major contributor to the confusion over whether Tar is real or not. The account was created in November 2022 and has over 25,000 followers.
It also links to a website promoting Tar’s fictional work and upcoming book. However, the links take visitors to donation pages for causes such as LGBTQ+ rights, incarcerated youth, and abortion.
@LydiaTarReal teamed up with the publication Slate to provide satirical “liveblogged coverage” of the 2023 Oscars. Many of her tweets from the night document the canceled composer’s attempts to get inside the Dolby Theatre.
Death hoax explained
As she is, of course, fictional, Lydia Tar did not die at the Oscars. But that has not stopped the rumor from spreading. A tweet from @LydiaTarReal joked that she had fallen down the stairs at the Dolby Theatre, adding a photoshopped image depicting the scene.
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The following day, the Twitter account took things one step further, posting a fake death announcement. The tweet “confirmed” Tar’s death and was signed off by “Team LT.”
It was this tweet that set off the death rumors and many to believe, not only that Lydia Tar was real, but that she had in fact died falling down the stairs at the Oscars.
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