LOS ANGELES — Reports of Anne Heche’s death rolled out in waves — from Friday morning through Sunday evening, depending on the media outlet — prompting some in the news industry to reexamine their nuanced definition of the word “dead” and in some cases to reconsider policies on whether an obituary gets published while a subject remains on life support.
Heche smashed her Mini Cooper into an L.A. home Aug. 5 and was severely burned when the car erupted in flames. Fifty-nine firefighters spent more than an hour trying to extinguish the blaze, and Heche was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Around 11 a.m. Friday, TMZ became the first major outlet to report that Heche had died. In its obituary, the gossip site attributed her death to her representative. “Her rep tells TMZ Anne is ‘brain dead’ and under California law that is the definition of death,” the site said.
