Lydia Tár, the renowned conductor who some people are still surprised to learn is just a character from the Oscar-nominated 2022 film, fell down the stairs at Sunday’s Oscars and has succumbed to her injuries, according to a Lydia Tár Twitter account that is not in any way official.
In other words, Tár’s “death” this week was nothing more than a hoax perpetrated by another hoax – but some folks fell for it anyway.
The account @LydiaTarReal has been openly operating as parody since launching in November, picking up nearly 27,000 followers in a few short months. Then during the Oscars, @LydiaTarReal tweeted a clumsy Photoshop of a “light tumble” she said she took down the stairs at the Dolby:
By Wednesday, @LydiaTarReal had announced that @LydiaTarReal is no longer with us: “It is with a heavy heart that we share that Lydia Tár, world-renowned conductor and composer, died last night after falling down the steps of the Dolby Theater,” she tweeted. Which could just be the account taking a bow, now that the Oscars are over (“Tár” was nominated six times, including for Best Picture and Best Actress for Cate Blanchett, but was shut out).
But the “Tár” marketing campaign had lead many folks to believe the film was a biopic about a real person named Lydia Tár. As such, the Wednesday death notice had some unintentionally funny responses (and some very rather intentionally funny ones).
“These are such weird (and disrespectful) comments,” one user replied. “I’m not familiar with her. Was she a bad person? If not, why are so many making fun of her death?”
Over and over, people appeared confused about the fall and death announcement, only to learn via reply that Lydia Tár is not a real person.
Others, like Slate film critic Sam Adams, were clearly in on the joke.
Blanchett couldn’t convert her Oscar nomination, though she won Best Actress trophies for “Tár” at the BAFTAS, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. And the final flourish of Lydia Tár’s fake death won, at very least, some highly colorful responses:
