Eddie Levert Is Still Alive and Well Despite What the Internet Says

The Gist:

• In 2023, rumors swirled online suggesting that Eddie Levert had died. Thankfully, they were fake and Eddie is still alive.
• Eddie is best known for his role as the lead vocalist of The O'Jays.
• Eddie is the father of Gerald Levert and Sean Levert, both of whom have passed away.

No need for mourning just yet! Following a wave of online rumors that beloved American musician Eddie Levert had died, many were determined to find out whether the internet chatter was true. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be.

The former O'Jays singer is still alive and well. It turns out that he's just another victim of the online death hoaxes that seem to be increasingly common. Now that you know Eddie is alive, you're probably wondering what he's doing now. Here's an update!

A page dedicated to mourning Eddie began to trend on Facebook, which is how rumors that he had died got started. Other related rumors have suggested that Eddie was hospitalized or near death. Fortunately, none of those things seem to be true at the moment. Eddie is 81 years old but seems to be in generally good health and living with his wife.

In fact, in January 2023, the O'Jays were performing for their farewell tour, which was meant to serve as a "goodbye" to all of the fans who have followed the band for decades. That tour seemed to go off without any major incident, and while it was probably exhausting, it certainly didn't directly lead to Eddie's death. If anything, it only encouraged the musician to continue traveling and performing (more on what he's doing now down below).

When asked to respond to the rumors that Eddie had died, his representatives pointed out that he was far from the first celebrity to face these kinds of rumors.

“He joins the long list of celebrities who this hoax has victimized," Eddie's representatives said. "He’s still alive and well; stop believing what you see on the internet."

Journalist Roland S. Martin took to Twitter to confirm that the news of Eddie's death is a hoax, and a harmful one at that. "Please stop spreading rumors of celebrities passing unless you've confirmed it with credible sources," he says in a video.

As a friend of Eddie's, Roland says his "heart dropped" when he woke up and heard that Eddie had passed. He immediately called Eddie's wife, Raquel, who told him that the news wasn't true. "Story's a lie," Roland says. "I literally just got off the phone with Raquel and Eddie. Talked to him. Had a conversation. This stuff is hurtful to the families. Don't spread this crap. Eddie Levert is with us."

Eddie's representatives are absolutely right that he's just the latest celebrity to fall victim to this kind of fake news. Everyone from Jimmy Fallon to Lady Gaga to the Corn Kid have been victims of this kind of hoax, which is very easy to spread online (in part because it's so emotional). Seeing the news that someone famous has died can make you want to share it, but it's important that you make sure the news is real before you react.

If you want to be extra sure that the news is real, you should wait for it to be reported on by a verified news source. Posts on social media can be highly emotional, but they don't necessarily have anything factual behind them. If major news outlets are posting about it, or you see it in a statement that comes from a person's family or estate, you can feel more confident that the news is real.

Until you're confident, though, you should hold off on spreading the news, as it may turn out to be false. People often post these kinds of stories, even when they aren't true, because of the attention they will get for them.

Eddie stays quite active these days. When he isn't performing on stage, he's hosting his podcast In Our Opinion, which airs Wednesdays at 7:00 pm EST. His team includes Ryan and Lemicah Levert, and of course, his wife Raquel. In some of his more recent videos, one of which was posted on Dec. 6, 2023, Eddie shared with fans that he's "on the road again."

We're glad to see Eddie active and still living his life to the fullest!

While Eddie has been fortunate enough to lead a long and fruitful life, his son Sean, wasn't as lucky. On March 30, 2008, Sean tragically passed away, marking the second child Eddie would have to bury. He was only 39 years old.

Sean reportedly died from multiple “health issues including high blood pressure, diabetes, sarcoidosis, and the use of multiple prescription medications,” per Case Western Reserve University. But it was Sean being jailed that led to his untimely death. After Sean reportedly failed to meet his child support debt obligation (he owed around $90,000), he was detained in Cuyahoga County Jail.

Because he was addicted to prescription medication, he struggled greatly after having to quit cold turkey while detained. It’s reported that jail staff “forced Sean to detox without the supervision of medical professionals” and that “the drastic and forced detox proved fatal.” He began “hallucinating and acting irregularly,” and later “suffocated and died” while strapped to a restraining chair. A wrongful death lawsuit was later filed on Sean’s behalf, and his family was awarded $4 million.