Ruby Dee is alive, despite false Twitter reports

NEW YORK (AP) -- Contrary to a flood of tweets overnight, Ruby Dee is very much alive.

Jeffrey Leavitt, representative for the 87-year-old actress and civil rights activist, corrected the false reports on Wednesday.

Dee's rumored death apparently resulted from confusion between her name and that of Heavy D, the popular rapper who died in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday at age 44.

The mix-up was compounded when the Rev. Jesse Jackson informed his Twitter followers that Ruby Dee had died, and she became a trending topic on the social network.

Shortly afterward, Jackson corrected his post. "The news of the passing of Ruby Dee HAS NOT BEEN confirmed," he tweeted, and urged his followers to pass the word.