Who's the daddy? Not me, insists Van Morrison after website is hacked

Published on Thursday 31 December 2009 21:42

MUSIC legend Van Morrison has dismissed claims he had become a father again as "completely and utterly" unfounded.

In a statement, the 64-year-old said he had been the victim of an internet hacking attack after a message appeared on his website earlier this week announcing the birth of a new son, George Ivan Morrison III.

The widely reported post, which has since been removed from the site, claimed producer "Gigi Lee" had given birth to his baby boy – "the spitting image of his daddy".

But the Moondance and Brown Eyed Girl singer insisted he was still happily married to Michelle Morrison – the mother of two of his children.

"Claims were made relating to my personal life in a 'statement' purporting to come from me," Morrison complained.

He went on: "The comments which appeared on my website did not come from me. They are completely and utterly without foundation.

"For the avoidance of all doubt and in the interests of clarity, I am very happily married to Michelle Morrison, with whom I have two wonderful children."

The notoriously private star said Tuesday's web post had been the second time his site had been hacked during the past three months.

"I have asked my management team to carry out an immediate investigation," he added.

Morrison's friend, Dublin-based public relations executive John Saunders, said the singer had been dismayed by the baby claims after enjoying a quiet family Christmas.

"Clearly, it is upsetting for all their family and for all their friends," he told RTE Radio in the Irish Republic.

"I spoke to Van a short while ago and I said, 'Do you even know this person (Gigi Lee]?'.

"He's never heard the name at any stage in the past – he doesn't know who this person is."

Mr Saunders said Morrison had waited so long to issue a statement in response because he was an intensely private person.

"I think he's within his rights to feel that he shouldn't have to come out and comment on something that is completely false," said Mr Saunders.

"But, given the seriousness of this, he has made this statement and he's emphatic that this story is completely and utterly without foundation."

The Belfast-born star, who also has a daughter aged 39 from his first marriage, to Janet Minto, found fame in the mid-1960s as a member of the band Them.

He went on to become a star in his own right with the groundbreaking album Astral Weeks in 1968.

Last year, he performed the album live in its entirety for the first time in 40 years.

A documentary film capturing the experience is to be released in the near future.

Morrison is not the first global star to become a victim of an internet hoax.

There has been a growing trend of people gaining access to high-profile celebrities' personal accounts and web pages, such as the "hack" of former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal Yahoo e-mail account, and numerous other celebrity blogs, Twitter accounts and MySpace accounts.

Singer Kanye West was forced to issue a statement saying he was not going to start a career in pornography after the false claim was posted on his website by a hacker.

Van Morrison statement

Claims were made relating to my personal life in a 'statement' purporting to come from me.

The comments which appeared on my website did not come from me. They are completely and utterly without foundation.

For the avoidance of all doubt and in the interests of clarity, I am very happily married to Michelle Morrison, with whom I have two wonderful children.

I have asked my management team to carry out an immediate investigation.