His passing was met with confusion amongst fans, with Facebook and Twitter users spreading rumours of his death as early as the 15th of May 2010, partly due to prior death rumours about Dio. When Blabbermouth.net contacted Wendy Dio at 11:35 p.m. PST on Saturday, May 15, she said the following;
"I am at the hospital and Ronnie has NOT passed away!!!! He is not doing good, but he is not dead. "I will let you know if anything changes. "Thank you for your concern."
However, Blabbermouth.net, along with many other websites who had posted to the contrary, retracted prior statements and confirmed Dio's death.