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Frasier actor conned by fake fallen soldier from Fife
Lauren Chalmers struck up a friendship with Kelsey Grammer on Twitter, but then pretended to have been killed in Afghanistan.
By Jennifer Crichton
10 June 2010[/align]
A young Fife woman who struck up an online friendship with Frasier actor Kelsey Grammer has been forced to apologise to him after she pretended to have died on active service in Afghanistan.
Lauren Chalmers began conversing with the comedian on Twitter last month and told him she was a soldier about to be posted to Afghanistan. She then pretended to be her own mother, posting a message to him saying she had been killed by an improvised explosive device.
The devastated actor, who had posted signed photos to her parents Kirkcaldy home as a homecoming surprise, used his own site to pay tribute to her bravery and even set up an armed forces tribute site. However, it quickly emerged Chalmers had conducted a sick hoax from her home in Kirkcaldy and had never served in the armed forces at all.
The 28-year-old was sitting at home in Fife when she sent Mr Grammer a message, under the online name Kirkcaldy2010, saying: "Well im in London right now, thank you for your reply Leaving in 2 hours. limited access nxt 6 months". She later added: "just to let you know i got here ok. lovely aghanstan, 6 months of hell im guessing."
However, Lauren then decided to pretend she had been killed and, posing as her mother, she told the actor: "This is not a hoax, Mr Grammer,in case you think it is. She passed away in an IED attack." She went on to thank the actor for his signed photographs, saying her 'daughter' had been looking forward to seeing them when she returned from Afghanistan.
Kind Kelsey said he was distraught by the death and told his 23,038 followers to "send her a prayer - her Mom needs our love now" He also told his fans he was honoured to have become friends with Lauren, saying: "@kirkcaldy2010 was so excited I responded little did she know I was even more excited she cared about this actor was quite honored". The actor's fans flooded his page with tributes to the fallen British soldier. However, despite the comedian's reassurances, some members of the armed forces discussion forum began to express concern about the legitimacy of the story.
Chalmers then set up a new Twitter account under the name Laurenc82 and attempted to blame the con on a "sick" friend or relative. And she told Mr Grammer "this is a cruel trick been played on u and myself", later adding: "This is the 1st contact ive had with you, i am boiling and very upset.i had nothing to do with this. i hope u know that."
However, Lauren was later forced to admit she was responsible for the hoax, prompting the Christian star to write: "May you ask God for forgiveness @laurenc82 I have forgiven you for this mess". In turn, on Wednesday she wrote to him again, saying: "thanks for your forgivness.i went to church and i prayed".
No female member of the British armed forces has died in Afghanistan since 2008.
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A pretty twisted story for sure, but I wonder how he'd have responded if she'd said that she'd killed loads of people? Would he have offered prayers for them?