Sunrise host David ‘Kochie’ Koch got emotional when he spoke to Bride and Prejudice star Dannii Erskine about her brutal death hoax hell on Tuesday’s episode of the show.
Dannii, who was falsely reported dead last month — only to reveal she was alive a week later — went on the breakfast show to speak about the “terrible” ordeal.
She explained to Koch and his co-host Natalie Barr that her Instagram account was hacked by a stalker who posted that she had died on April 29, leaving her family traumatized.
“My poor family was inundated with so many calls. This whole experience was just awful,” she told hosts Kochie and Natalie Barr.
Kochie, 67, became emotional after hearing about Dannii’s ordeal.
Sunrise presenter David ‘Kochie’ Koch got emotional on Tuesday when he spoke to Bride and Prejudice star Dannii Erskine about her brutal death hoax inferno. Pictured with co-host Natalie Barr
“That’s scary, poor thing, thanks for clearing that up. It’s just appalling to put families in this situation,” Kochie said.
“It’s a great warning to everyone and a terrible thing to put families in this situation.”
A day earlier, Dannii spoke to Daily Mail Australia outside her home in the Mornington Peninsula, explaining that the whole saga was a vicious prank orchestrated by an obsessed fan from the Geelong region who had hacked into her social media accounts.
The fan allegedly posted an obituary and burial details after gaining access to her Instagram.
The reality star (right) appeared on Sunrise to discuss the death hoax and explained that her Instagram account was hacked by a stalker who posted that she had died on April 29.
The story was picked up days later when a person claiming to be Dannii’s sister — who Dannii believes was actually the same woman who hacked her social media — “confirmed” her death via email to a reality TV podcast. The email stated that Dannii died on April 28 in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.
Dannii suspects the “stalker” who started the rumor is a former moderator of a Facebook group she started years ago. Daily Mail Australia cannot publish her name for legal reasons.
Dannii also denied “cruel” speculation that she was somehow involved in faking her own death, admitting that she and her family were “humiliated” by the attention.
“I didn’t fake my own death. There has been too much loss [among the Bride and Prejudice cast] as it is, and we all know how sad that has been,” she said.
“Not only is it disgusting and cruel, it’s humiliating for everyone – not just myself, but my family as well. If I wanted to disappear I would just close everything [social media accounts] down. It’s really just common sense; I do not understand.’
An irate Dannii said she was especially “disgusted” by her ex-husband Denton Ansley, who she hasn’t spoken to in 18 months, because she spoke out before knowing if she was really dead.
“I am disgusted with my husband – my ex-husband, sorry – for the way he has gone on and talked about me. I would never, in my entire life, if the tables were turned, would do something like that to someone,” she said.
“My poor family was inundated with so many calls. This whole experience was just awful,” she told hosts Kochie and Natalie Bar
Dannii said she had an “extremely stressful two weeks” in the aftermath of the hoax.
The emotional toll was evident when Dannii spoke about the brutal cyberbullying she faced from trolls who falsely accused her of faking her own death.
“This is why people commit suicide,” she said.
‘They’re mean. What people write behind it [my back] because they are too scared to come and confront me. They write behind a keyboard and they say all those nasty remarks when they can’t look me in the face.’
When asked why she didn’t immediately stop reports of her death, Dannii said she was “advised not to comment or post” on social media as she was in hospital recovering from foot surgery at the time.
“They said, ‘You have to focus on your recovery. This is just going to stress you out,'” she explained. “Mental health is a huge thing these days, and people don’t understand that things like this are wrong and disgusting.”
Dannii further revealed that she was “incredibly sore” following ankle reconstruction on May 1, which resulted from injuries sustained in a “real car accident” in September 2022.
Dannii said the September collision led to her being hospitalized and requiring three months of rehabilitation.
In her interview with Daily Mail Australia, Dannii revealed how a common cybersecurity flaw left her vulnerable to a malicious hacker.
“I’ve had the same password for about 15 years and it’s a very, shall we say, simple password,” she confessed.
‘I shared that [password] with quite a few people.’
Dannii’s “death” was announced on May 2 by the So Dramatic podcast. The report was later followed up by several media outlets, including News.com.au, 7News and Daily Mail Australia, among others.
A person falsely claiming to be her ‘sister’ Dee said Dannii died in hospital following a horrific car crash in North Melbourne that left her brain dead.
Earlier this month, Erskine spoke out to confirm that reports of her death in a car accident were false
‘If [Dannii] went through a green light, a driver was drunk and T-banged her. She was alive and taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital,” the person who falsely claimed to be her sister told So Dramatic via email.
“She passed away on the morning of the 29th [of April] at 12:01 am… She will be loved, sorely missed and it was a terrible tragedy. Please be safe on the roads. This can happen to anyone.’
That claim was subsequently disputed by Victoria Police and the coroner, who said no accidents or deaths of this nature had been reported at the time.
Police sources also confirmed to Daily Mail Australia last week that Dannii was ‘alive and well’, according to their internal systems.