Dame Helen Mirren made a bizarre comment about Kurt Cobain’s death that has the internet in stitches.
The Nirvana vocalist died at age 27 in 1994 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was found by an electrician in his Seattle home.
His tragic death continues to have an effect on popular culture more than 30 years later, shining a light on mental health issues, the pressure of fame, and so much more.
But for Hollywood icon Dame Helen – it’s devastating for a rather bizarre reason.
In a conversation with Evgeny Lebedev for The Evening Standard, the Prime Suspect actor said it was ‘so sad’ the acclaimed musician never got to use one seemingly mundane, yet extraordinary, piece of technology.
‘I always say, it’s so sad that Kurt Cobain died when he did because he never got to see GPS,’ she said.
(Picture: Dave Benett)
‘It’s the most wonderful thing, my little blue spot walking down the street. I just find it completely magical and unbelievable.’
The 2024 bingo card is out of the window at this point – most people, at any point in time, probably didn’t think they’d read this.
And, naturally, social media users have been quick to make their own comparisons with famous figures throughout time.
‘Such a tragedy that Notorious B.I.G. never got to enjoy the benefits of contactless payment,’ Edward Jenkins wrote on X.
TomTayon added: ‘It’s a terrible shame Mozart died before he could experience the wonders of MP3s.’
BakedTurboFlash admitted: ‘Every day I think about how much Tupac would have enjoyed the little miracle of Duolingo. Just a little owl, teaching you words every day.’
Some jokingly pointed out other technological milestones Cobain missed out on, such as Waze, Apple iPads, and air fryers.
Cheetara86 joked: ‘I always say, its so sad that Jimi Hendrix died when he did, because he never saw Next Day Amazon Prime Shipping.’
Axian said: ‘Really broken up about the fact that Isaac Newton never got to experience the Costco guys music video.’
Others wished Mark Twain could have read a book on a Kindle, while some thought it was a shame Albert Einstein never got to play Farmville.
Looking on the bright side, chairsign pointed out: ‘Heidigger died in 1976 so there’s a chance he got to play Pong.’
Touchingly, this isn’t the first time Dame Helen has thought about the age at which Cobain died and the things he didn’t get to experience.
She told Cosmopolitan in a 2015 interview: ‘I was thinking about Kurt Cobain the other day and he died without knowing the internet, and I’m totally blown away by that.’
Then, a year later, she told the Daily Mail: ‘If I’d died at 27, the age that Kurt Cobain [of rock band Nirvana] died in 1994, I’d never have even known there was an internet!
‘Incredible things are happening all the time and I can’t wait to see what comes next.’