Things Kirstie Alley was definitely involved in include classic shows and movies, like Cheers, It Takes Two, and Veronica's Closet. She had nothing to do with "Bridgegate," the New Jersey scandal that erupted after Governor Chris Christie's office was accused of closing a bridge and creating a days-long traffic jam just to punish a rival.
But, a bunch of people on Twitter got confused about it anyway.
This morning, The New York Times simply reported that a confidante of Gov. Chris Christie would be pleading guilty to unspecified charges pertaining to the case. The headline? "Christie Ally to Plead Guilty in New Jersey Bridge Scandal."
Some early morning bafflement and a bunch of tweets later, and "Kirstie Alley" was trending on Twitter.
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I READ THIS AS "KIRSTIE ALLEY" AND I SCREAMED pic.twitter.com/uWfngW7xmM
— Tom McQuaid (@tomcquaid) May 1, 2015
Now a whole contingency of people getting news push alerts think Kirstie Alley is in peril. Someone call her publicist.
— Kathleen Schmidt (@Bookgirl96) May 1, 2015
Kirstie Alley is trending because America can't read. http://t.co/EKaz3ZSLeZ pic.twitter.com/NWu4jXK1sL
— Dave Briggs (@davebriggstv) May 1, 2015
Naturally, this led to a lot of Photoshop pranks, which Mashable rounded up.
Kirstie Alley to Plead Guilty in New Jersey Bridge Closings pic.twitter.com/bCIru9YO5L
— Philip Winn (@philipwinn) May 1, 2015
And finally, Kirstie Alley responded on Twitter. "And THIS is how rumors once again get started," she tweeted. "Jeez...hasn't even been a week since my last accusation..."
Luckily, Alley has maintained a sense of humor throughout the entire ordeal. "I take full responsibility!" she told People magazine. "You see, I bought a new Aston Martin and wanted the whole freeway to myself to test drive and...oops."
The scandal actually involved associates of the Jersey governor, Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, who were charged today for purposefully closing several lanes of the George Washington Bridge on the first day of school in Fort Lee, N.J., reportedly to get revenge on the town's mayor for not backing Christie's bid for re-election.
Unlike those poor sports, Alley is taking her mistaken identity pretty well. "Anyone interested in staying in Italy for free?" she tweeted. "I just closed it down... Be my guests :)"
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