Morgan Freeman says Newtown statement was a hoax Actor Morgan Freeman arrives at the 35th Kennedy Center Honors, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Dec. 2, 2012. / Drew Angerer/AFP/Getty Images Morgan Freeman says he did not issue the statement that went viral on the Internet blaming the media for sensationalizing the Newtown School shootings that left 20 children and 6 adults dead. The Oscar-winning actor said the statement that was attributed to him was a hoax, reports The Wrap, who spoke to the actor's publicist, Stan Rosenfield. "It's because of the way the media reports it," said the false statement. Turn on the news and see how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single 'victim' of Columbine? The comments were posted on Facebook and Twitter and continued to spread across the Internet. The controversial comments ended with: "So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or maternity ward next. "