Former Reality TV participant cites hoax after false media reports of her ‘death’

Former Reality TV participant Danni Erskine, who featured in the torrid 2019 reality series Bride & Prejudice on Seven, has told Media Watch she was the victim of a hoax and had no part in faking reports of her death, after it was incorrectly reported she was the victim of a car accident.

Erskine told Media Watch that someone hacked her Instagram account, pretending she was dead and posed as her sister in emails to the So Dramatic website.

Further reports were published by news.com.au, Daily Mail, Seven News and UK tabloids The Sun, The Daily Mirror and Metro.

“And did media outlets that reported her death say sorry for misleading their readers and getting it completely wrong? You know the answer to that too.

In fact, many of the false stories are still online.

It really is shameful stuff.” #MediaWatch pic.twitter.com/cdqlIlVfPT

— Media Watch (@ABCmediawatch) May 15, 2023

Sadly Bride and Prejudice has seen its share of actual tragedies including a participant death in 2020, post-series.

Erskine also told Daily Mail, in a corrective story, “I did not fake my own death. There has been too much loss as it is, and we all know how sad that’s been.

“It’s not just disgusting and cruel, it’s humiliating for everybody – not just for myself, but also for my family. If I wanted to disappear, I would just shut everything [social media accounts] down. It’s really just common sense; I don’t understand.”

False stories on Erskine’s supposed death remain online.