Timbaland is alive and well, thanks for your concern

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Normally when those of us at Ministry of Gossip hear that a celebrity has been falsely accused of departing this Earth, we lay the blame at the feet of some Twitter-happy mischief makers. (Can you blame us? Look at this gallery of celebrity death hoaxes.)

But rumors of Timbaland‘s demise on Tuesday seem to actually have started with the best intentions. TMZ is claiming that family members were worried about the musician because he seemed to be rather distraught. He was possibly torn up over a burglary at his Malibu house the day before. (The report says thieves had made off with a $2-million Jacob & Co. watch). Authorities stepped in and a manhunt began for the singer-producer, who was found safe and sound.

So how did this whole thing reach Internet red alert? For that, you can probably look to Ryan Seacrest, whom AccessHollywood.com says apparently stirred the pot when he told his ‘On Air With Ryan Seacrest’ radio show listeners that Timbaland had attempted suicide. Thank goodness Seacrest was able to clear the air on Twitter.

— Whitney Friedlander