History Main / GodNeverSaidThat

* This caused a stir when Creator/HalleBerry's Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} page was edited with a quote from her that said "this new album will show people that [she] can do more than act". A number of news websites then reported that Berry was branching out into music, which caused Berry herself to report that she had no plans to do so.

** A persistent belief among some fans, due to an alleged "leak" from an early screening, is that ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2'' [[spoiler: originally had a deeply BittersweetEnding with Elsa KilledOffForReal instead of only suffering a DisneyDeath, but that the ending was changed after [[FocusGroupEnding test audiences disapproved]].]] There has been no hint of this whatsoever from either the Walt Disney Company or the movie's creative team.

* It is CommonKnowledge that Music/DonMcLean has offered specific interpretations of his classic song "American Pie". However, aside from [[http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/01/mclean.buddy.holly/ tacitly acknowledging]] its homage to Music/BuddyHolly, the singer has always avoided doing this, leaving the interpretation up to the listener.

[[folder:Religion]]
* This happens quite frequently in Literature/TheBible, being perhaps the most translated text of all time. (for the purposes of this list, all quotations will be from the King James Version unless otherwise noted.)
* Genesis 3, which is about the Fall of Adam and Eve from Eden, is often summarized as "the Devil tricks Adam and Eve into eating an apple".
** Christian tradition states that Satan took the form of a snake, this is never specified in the chapter itself. However, a verse that suggests that Satan did take the form of a snake is Revelation 12:9, which says: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
** It's also often said that the serpent had legs before God curses it for tricking Adam and Eve, but the text only states that afterwards he was cursed to crawl on his belly.
** The ''periy'' ("fruit") is never specified as an apple (the word though is hard to translate into English as it means any plant product -- fruit, grain, nuts, berries, edible leaves, etc.) -- the idea of it being an apple comes from the Latin word ''malus'', which means both "apple" and "evil"; the Apple of Discord by Eris, which led to the Judgment of Paris and UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar; and John Milton's Literature/ParadiseLost, an epic poem that states that the fruit was an apple. Whether the fruit is indeed an apple or not, the point is that Adam and Eve were told ''not'' to eat the fruit; they ate it anyway, and didn't own up to their error.
* Exodus 34:29 is as follows: "And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him." This verse refers to Moses as having rays of light, not horns, emanating from his face. The image of Moses having horns comes from the Vulgate, a translation of the Bible into Latin by St. Jerome, which translates קָרַ֛ן, qāran (based on the root, קָ֫רֶן qeren, which often means "horn") into "cornuta". Even so, "horned" in this context is very likely meant to mean "glorified".
** Joseph's coat may have been "richly ornamented" or "of many colors" depending on the translation, which aren't necessarily the same thing.
** The sea creature that swallowed Jonah is expressly called a דג גדול - a big fish. However, at the time whales were generally considered to be just a large kind of fish; the distinction between whales (which are mammals) and fish wouldn't be made for several centuries yet.
** The Ten Commandments themselves. Aside from slight differences in dividing up the commandments between the original Hebrew and subsequent Christian versions, there are a few cases where people have deliberately tried to mistranslate or misread earlier versions, such as with the Commandment "ThouShaltNotKill." The original word used in the Hebrew version, רצח (r-ṣ-ḥ), clearly means just ''murder'' of the premeditated kind, as in "lie in wait for innocent blood" and the like (elsewhere, the command is that murderers and other criminals are to be executed, and accidental killings are not to be punished). Capital punishment and war are clearly not breaches of this Commandment, as they're specifically authorized on many occasions.
** And "taking God's name in vain" is a rather sparse translation. It more literally means something like "You are not to take God's name up for nothingness" i.e. don't go using it casually to back up worthless and dubious claims, or claiming God as an ally in some scheme you're trying to pull (this can especially be applied to [[AcceptablePoliticalTargets politicians]] and the like).
** The identification of Satan as "Lucifer" or "the Morning Star." This comes from Isaiah 14:12, which does not refer to Satan, but King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. His fall from power is being compared with the fall of the morning star, Venus (Lucifer in Latin). This was later lumped in with Satan's fall (itself subject to a great deal of legend).
** The New Testament provides an example recounted within the Gospels; God gave a number of general rules, but by Jesus' time these had been analyzed and quantified into strict rules by the Pharisees. When the Pharisees tried to call Jesus on his "rule-breaking", he often explained that they had over-analyzed the letter of the law and missed the spirit completely. For example, in Matthew 12:1-2, Jesus' disciples were plucking ears of corn with their hands, but the Pharisees accused them of working on the Sabbath: "At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day". The irony is that the disciples' actions were in accordance to Deuteronomy 23:25: "When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn".
** Despite the common interpretation, not once in the Bible does it mention that the angels sent down to Earth (e.g. [[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]]) have wings. Indeed the descriptions of them are often vague at best, describing them only by what they wore or being surrounded by bright light. The ones that are described as having wings have multiple pairs and some have eyes on their wings too... others are far closer to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. There's a set of angels in Ezekiel, for example, who take the form of "topaz wheels made of eyes", who may or may not act as {{Soul Jar}}s for even stronger angels! The {{Winged Humanoid}}s we know and love are a creation of Medieval European art (RuleOfCool was around even then).
*** Also, there is ambiguity about the term 'angel' itself. Occasionally it is used almost interchangeably with God himself (perhaps similar to 'avatar').[[note]]The Hebrew word "mal'ach" and the Greek word "angelos" both mean "messenger".[[/note]] And the more... colorful descriptions tend to use other words, such as 'seraph'. Also these descriptions take place solely in heavenly visions and revelations, and whether they are to be taken literally is highly debatable.
*** 'Angel' has such a feminine connotation in modern English, despite the fact that the only times angels have a specified gender in the Bible, it is male. This has led to the oddity of angels in general being thought of as being female, but most angel characters in works are male or sexless.
*** Speaking of angels, Gabriel is not actually an archangel. Per definition there can only be one (the word essentially meaning "the highest one of the angels"), and the Bible only mentions one by that title - Michael.
*** Also related to angels, there is absolutely no reason to think that the Bible states or even implies that humans can or will become angels after death. Unlike most misconceptions, this one is actually fairly recent as it was popularized by such things as ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife''.
** Much of the conception of the Apocalypse is based on the commentaries contained in the ''Scofield Reference Bible''. So you get ideas such as the Jews returning to Israel and expelling all non-Jews as required for Jesus to come back. Much of it was reinterpreted by televangelists, and it all went well, until [[TheEighties America sided with Iraq (Babylon) against Iran (Persia)]] because AmericaSavesTheDay. The UsefulNotes/ColdWar ending should've discredited it altogether, but like all memes, it won't die. Also found in the ''Scofield'' was James Ussher's chronology of the Universe, which dates Creation to the 22 of October 4004 BC. Which is still what Young Earth Creationists believe. Ignoring [[ScienceMarchesOn the obvious]], not only was Ussher's chronology not the first, nor did the others arrive at the same date[[note]]most calculations clustered around 4000 or 5500 BC, depending on manuscript tradition[[/note]], but [[{{Irony}} not even Ussher was completely literal with his derivation]], having shoehorned certain passages so that Jesus was born 4000 years after Creation when the Bible does not state this.
** The King James translation of Deuteronomy 23:17 is as follows: "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel".
** The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are, in order of appearance, Conquest (not Pestilence), War, Famine, and Death. Except that of the four horsemen, Death is the only one that is explicitly named. Conquest, War, and Famine are names given to the other three horsemen based on what they did.[[note]]The verses describing them are Revelation 6:1-8 "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."[[/note]]
* Though multiple examples of the SevenDeadlySins can be seen throughout the Bible, the seven sins are not explicitly referred to as such. The doctrine of the seven deadly sins is developed by a group of early Christians known as the Desert Fathers, who lived in about [[NewerThanTheyThink the third century A.D. It wasn't considered part of Catholic doctrine until 590 AD]].
* One important blessing of the Jewish ''Shaharit'' (morning) Service thanks God for giving "(something) the ability to distinguish day from night." In one Reform prayerbook, the "something" is translated as the mind. In one Orthodox prayerbook, the "something" is translated as the heart. In reality, it is an ancient Hebrew word for ''rooster'', the alarm clock of the pre-Industrial era.
* Due to the meaning of the word evolving over time, it is likely that the prohibition against cooking a kid (young goat) in its mother's ''milk'' originally banned cooking the kid in its mother's ''fat''. That's right, to the ancient Israelites, there may not have been anything wrong with a cheeseburger, unless it was fried in animal fat. Poultry was declared meat in the rabbinical era, some time after the above line was interpreted to mean "don't mix dairy products and meat." Initially it was pareve (food that can be eaten with either milk or meat) like fish still is because birds don't nurse their young. The issue comes up frequently because kids, when learning the above line, start asking Kids Say the Darnedest Things-esque questions about how one milks a chicken.
* The continuous argument of the creation of earth and life by God being completed in 6 Days (popularized as 7 Days). For many, religious or not, this has been interpreted as meaning: 24 hours for each day in a human's grasp of time.
** The original Hebrew word ("yom") is almost an exact equivalent of English "day". That is, it ''can'' be used in a sense where it doesn't mean 24 hours (English example: "In Abraham Lincoln's day")-- [[TranslationWithAnAgenda despite what Young Earth Creationists want you to believe]]. Even assuming a more literal interpretation of the word "day" as "solar cycle," [[FridgeLogic the fact that the sun wasn't created until the fourth day raises some questions]].
** Genesis identifies the extent of the first six days, but does not say that the seventh day ends, so it can be said that all of human history after creation has taken place in the seventh "day".
* Neither the number of ''magoi'' that come to visit the baby Jesus nor their names are explicitly mentioned. Nor were the magi explicitly referred to as kings.
** Some early Christians (and the Western Church) think there were three magi because three types of gifts were offered. Those who do identify the magi as Gaspar, a king of India; Melchior a king of Persia; and Balthasar, a king of Arabia. On the other hand, some Eastern Churches lists up to twelve magi and have different names for the magi; the Syriac Church identifies three magi as Larvandad, Hormisdas, and Gushnasaph.
** The word "magi" referred to a Mediterranean perception of Zoroastrians (Persian monotheists who follow the prophet Zarathustra and the god Ahura Mazda) as skilled astrologers who could control the fates. The magi were referred to as "kings" because of prophecies in the Old Testament describing that the Messiah will be worshipped by kings. One of them is Psalm 72:10-11, which reads: "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him."
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-> ''"I really didn't say everything I said."''

* ''Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}}'''s article on Creator/PeterChimaera insisted that he had a fic in the works entitled ''Fanfic/QuarterlifeHalfwayToDestruction''. When he eventually published a fic by that name, he referenced the article, and clarified that "dontn't know where come but [[AscendedFanon I decide to write anyway]]".

* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast:'' The Beast [[NoNameGiven is never given a name]] in the film, though many fans will tell you that he's called "[[AdamAndOrEve Adam]]" [[AllThereInTheScript in the commentary]]. Actually, the commentary just mentions that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHyrv_uP2fI they forgot to give the Beast a name]]. Even though "Adam" ''has'' [[AscendedFanon sneaked its way into]] into a small handful tie-in media, such as a computer trivia game called ''The D-Show'', the Beast continues to not have an official name with Disney continuing to make a point of calling him just "the Beast" or "the Prince".

* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, being an extremely large franchise known for making not-well-known-characters into the stars of multi-million-dollar, blockbuster films, is constantly plagued by this -- especially because it makes good clickbait. Creator/NathanFillion will cameo as Ant-Man in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''! [[note]]He didn't, but did cameo as... a blue guy in the first ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''[[/note]] Adam Warlock will be in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''! [[note]]He was mentioned, but not shown, in the stinger; something the rumor mills would not have predicted.[[/note]] Phil Coulson will return in ''Film/IronMan3''/''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''/''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''/''Film/AntMan1''/''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''! [[note]]He didn't, not until ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019''[[/note]] The ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' and ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}'' will be in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' / Kevin Feige has said the TV and Netflix characters aren't ever coming to the movies! [[note]]Feige never said the latter, and the only television character to appear in either of those films was [[spoiler:Edwin Jarvis from ''Series/AgentCarter'']][[/note]]. ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' had an out of context MythologyGag from a trailer that was misconstrued to make it seem like the MCU was changing its Earth 199999 designation to the comic universe's Earth 616 which wasn't true. [[note]] Mysterio told Peter in the trailer that he was from 616 but turns out that [[spoiler: Beck wasn't even FromAnotherDimension. He was just a liar.]][[/note]] And so on.

** It was rumored that Rowling had confirmed ''Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch / Pillar of Storge / Fortress of Shadows'' as the title of books six/seven. She responded by suggesting ''Harry Potter and The Toenail of Icklibogg.''
-->'''J.K''': I am trying very hard not to feel offended that anyone thought this was possible. 'Storgé', for crying out loud. Come on, people, get a grip.
** There was an article Harry/Hermione [[{{Shipping}} shippers]] would sometimes cite which claimed Rowling had said Harry would develop "more of an interest in pal Hermione" in book 5. Nobody was able to trace this to an actual interview, and it ended up being {{Jossed}}. [[http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/rumours_view.cfm?id=21 More information here.]]

* The ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' fandom mostly believes in the veracity of Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's infamous "Tent Peg" interview, in which she states that anal penetration will instantly turn a man gay, by way of explaining how riders of green and blue dragons can all be gay). However there's no actual evidence that it's more than an internet legend. She did, however, espouse similar, if much ''much'' milder ideas in her [[http://www.dragonridersclub.com/drmain/ammsg.html "Renewable Air Force" essay]]--in which she says green dragons tend to pick males with more feminine personalities and blues tend to pick [[StraightGay Straight]] and {{Manly Gay}}s.

-->Editor's note: The human concept of friend is most nearly duplicated in Vulcan thought by the term t'hy'la, which can also mean brother and lover. Spock's recollection (from which this chapter has drawn) is that it was a most difficult moment for him since he did indeed consider Kirk to have become his brother. However, because t'hy'la can be used to mean lover, and since Kirk's and Spock's friendship was unusually close, this has led to some speculation over whether they had actually indeed become lovers. At our request, Admiral Kirk supplied the following comment on this subject:
-->"I was never aware of this lovers rumor, although I have been told that Spock encountered it several times. Apparently he had always dismissed it with his characteristic lifting of his right eyebrow which usually connoted some combination of surprise, disbelief, and/or annoyance. As for myself, although I have no moral or other objections to physical love in any of its many Earthly, alien, and mixed forms, I have always found my best gratification in that creature woman. Also, I would dislike being thought of as so foolish that I would select a love partner who came into sexual heat only once every seven years."

* "Creator/JohnSteinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires,” only he didn't really. It's telling that this quote, apparently first used by Ronald Wright, is repeated verbatim rather than anything directly from Steinbeck. The quote this is most likely based off of reads "I guess the trouble was that we didn’t have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist," but the context was rather different. He is talking about open socialists from affluent backgrounds and goes onto say: "Maybe the Communists so closely questioned by the investigation committees were a danger to America, but the ones I knew—at least they claimed to be Communists—couldn’t have disrupted a Sunday-school picnic."

* The press release for ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' announced that the new 007 would be played by Creator/LashanaLynch, a black woman. This led to accusations of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad and/or outright racism and misogyny from the social media peanut gallery. The studio (as well as people with basic reading comprehension) had to clarify that it didn't say she was becoming ''James Bond''. Rather, Bond had retired from active service at the very end of ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', and she was assigned his former agent number.

* [[OverlyLongGag And sometimes]], people just make stuff up, and falsely attribute it to the creators or the original canon (sometimes unintentionally). Many who hear this type of information don't usually realize that '''[[TitleDrop God Never Said That]]'''.

** If they wind up changing their mind afterwards, Word of God turns into FlipFlopOfGod.

** Sometimes, Fanon ends up being taken as the next best thing to canon, at which point it becomes WordOfDante.
** Sometimes, Fanon gets imported right back into the original canon. Unsurprisingly, that's AscendedFanon.

This is about that last one ([[DontExplainTheJoke in case you couldn't tell from the]] TitleDrop).

* [[OverlyLongGag And sometimes]], people just make stuff up, and falsely attribute it to the creators or the original canon (sometimes unintentionally). Many who hear this type of information don't usually realize that [[TitleDrop God Never Said That]].

*** In another spot on her website, Rowling debunked the common belief that she'd said she originally wrote ''Philosopher's Stone'' on napkins, explaining that it was written on ''notepads''. It didn't help that even the ''author biography in some editions of the books'' repeated the "napkins" idea.

* Fanon holds that in ''Film/PulpFiction'', the person who keyed Vincent's car, which he complains to Lance about, was Butch, having motive (being insulted by Vincent but unable to fight him because of Marsellus). All it takes is a bit of FridgeLogic to disprove this: How would Butch know which car is Vincent's? Further proof is fleetingly provided during Vincent & Lance's discussion: Vincent begins the conversation by saying, "''You know what happened the other day?''", which given that Vincent and Butch first interacted with each other only that morning, rules Butch out as the doer. Nobody even bothered to ask Quentin Tarantino about that little story detail before it started circulating.
** Similarly, the fan theory that the briefcase contains Marsellus Wallace's soul is sometimes misattributed to Tarantino himself.

** Also, no one involved in the production of ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' said that it would be the last film of the franchise. What Trevorrow ''did'' say is that it will conclude the character arcs of the stars from the original series (Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler and Dr. Malcolm) and the ''World'' series (Owen and Claire), which meant that it could effectively be considered the end ''to that era'' of the series. However, both he and producer Frank Marshall have independently confirmed that there are plans to continue the series beyond ''Dominion'', albeit with different human protagonists.

** Also, no one involved in the production of ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' said that it would be the last film of the franchise. What Trevorrow ''did'' say is that it will conclude the character arcs of the stars from the original series (Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler and Dr. Malcolm) and the ''World'' series (Owen and Claire), which meant that it could effectively be considered the end ''to that era'' of the series. However, both he and producer Frank Darabont have independently confirmed that there are plans to continue the series beyond ''Dominion'', albeit with different human protagonists.

* Outside of apocrypha, no one officially connected with the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic ever actually went on record claiming the ship to be literally "unsinkable". The closest official records come is are general suggestions that the ship's safety designs[[note]]which, although ultimately to be proven tragically inadequate, actually ''were'' top-notch by the standards of the day[[/note]] made her "practically unsinkable". Later reports naturally dropped the 'practically' in order to sensationalise the tragedy and amp up the situational irony factor.

* This actually happens quite frequently in Literature/TheBible, being perhaps the most translated text of all time. (for the purposes of this list, all quotations will be from the King James Version unless otherwise noted).

** The ''periy'' ("fruit") is never specified as an apple (the word though is hard to translate into English as it means any plant product -- fruit, grain, nuts, berries, edible leaves, etc.) -- the idea of it being an apple comes from the Latin word ''malus'', which means both "apple" and "evil"; the Apple of Discord by Eris, which led to the Judgment of Paris and UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar; and John Milton's Literature/ParadiseLost, an epic poem that states that the fruit was an apple. Whether the fruit is indeed an apple or not, the point is that Adam and Eve were told ''not'' to eat the fruit, they ate it anyway, ''and'' didn't own up to their error.

** Joseph's coat may have been "richly ornamented" or "of many colors" depending on the translation[[note]]Though if you're trying to be ornamental, many colors is the go-to[[/note]]

* Volume 5 of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' is already one of the most disliked seasons of the show, but some reasons that got touted shortly after release were fans claiming that they were promised the return of fan-favorite character Neo and that we'd meet Pyrrha's parents, neither of which happened. The creators went on to clarify that they only said Neo would return ''soon''; the character would return with a dedicated subplot in Volume 6.

* ''WebComic/StandStillStaySilent'' had a huge fandom uproar when it turned out that an [[WordOfGod authorial statement]] in TheRant had been widely misinterpreted by the fans, leading the fandom to believe that there would be no named character deaths. This turned out to be false. The author released a statement saying that she was sorry for stringing her fans along for so long, but that the only way to debunk the rumor was to spoil the majority of the main StoryArc.

* Very early on, it was rumored that Creator/MattReeves' ''Film/{{The Batman|2022}}'' would be a PeriodPiece set in TheNineties, and this became such a ubiquitous talking point that many websites began reporting it as fact. However, Reeves himself never said that; the idea that the movie was set in the 90s began due to fans assuming it would be a prequel to ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', with Creator/RobertPattinson merely playing a younger version of Creator/BenAffleck's Batman from the previous movies. However, as time went on, it became increasingly likely that ''The Batman'' would either be set in a standalone continuity or serve as a ContinuityReboot of sorts, and Reeves eventually {{Jossed}} the whole 90s theory when saying it would explore what Batman would be like if he'd been conceived in the present day.

** Similarly, it's possible that [[MethuselahSyndrome the ridiculously high ages of some Old Testament characters]] were supposed to be in months rather than years but were mistranslated.

* Writer Greg Farshtey used to actively invoke this in the ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' fanbase, as he's been known to "confirm" or "reject" plausible theories in order to throw fans off the trail of his actual plans; and when called on it would point out the ExactWords in his original statements. Greg also did this in relation to the series' UniverseBible. In response to fan complaints that the franchise [[DoingInTheWizard diminished its mystical elements]] (which in itself was true) and supposedly ruined its magical themes by demystifying them, he pointed out that nothing in the franchise's working notes was described as "magic". Greg would also remind fans that one of the series' main themes was characters being wrong, so their beliefs and understanding of their world didn't always reflect the writers' intent.
** Franchise co-creator Bob Thompson was often quoted saying ''Bionicle'' had been planned ahead for twenty years, with a total of seven "books" or grand story arcs. On the brand's 20th anniversary, ten years after its discontinuation, Bob clarified he never meant it literally. He had ideas that ''might'' have been enough for twenty years of stories, but apart from a few pre-planned mysteries, the story was mostly made up on the fly, with plans constantly changing. The "seven books" were just a nice-sounding concept, not something real.

[[folder:Multiple Media]]
* Greg Farshtey ''actively invokes'' this in the ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' fanbase, as he's been known to "confirm" or "reject" plausible theories in order to throw fans off the trail of his actual plans; and when called on it would point out the ExactWords in his original statements.
* Unfortunately true for the Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}, due to the large amount of untranslated extra materials leading to certain fans making up plausible theories and passing them off as truths.
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** In 2015, director Chris Buck jokingly claimed that he likes to think King Agnarr and Queen Iduna survived their shipwreck, ended up in the jungle and became [[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} Tarzan]]'s parents. Many fans took this as canon, even though it's not really consistent with the two films' details (Tarzan's parents look different from the king and queen, they escaped from a burning ship, not just a sunken one, the time periods don't match up, and they already had baby Tarzan with them, whereas Queen Iduna showed no sign of being pregnant when she and the king left on their voyage). Those who spread this statement as proof of that this theory was try also conveniently left out that Buck went on to say that he imagined that the films also take place in the same continuity as ''WesternAnimation/SurfsUp'', a film from Sony Animation also directed by Buck, demonstrating that it was meant in jest, since it would otherwise probably result in a legal disputes, given that two different studios are involved. In 2019, Buck finally confirmed that his comment was only meant as a joke.

** Much of the conception of the Apocalypse is based on the commentaries contained in the ''Scofield Reference Bible''. So you get ideas such as the Jews returning to Israel and expelling all non-Jews as required for Jesus to come back. Much of it was reinterpreted by televangelists, and it all went well, until [[TheEighties America sided with Iraq (Babylon) against Iran (Persia)]] because AmericaSavesTheDay. TheGreatPoliticsMessUp should've discredited it altogether, but like all memes, it won't die. Also found in the ''Scofield'' was James Ussher's chronology of the Universe, which dates Creation to the 22 of October 4004 BC. Which is still what Young Earth Creationists believe. Ignoring [[ScienceMarchesOn the obvious]], not only was Ussher's chronology not the first, nor did the others arrive at the same date[[note]]most calculations clustered around 4000 or 5500 BC, depending on manuscript tradition[[/note]], but [[{{Irony}} not even Ussher was completely literal with his derivation]], having shoehorned certain passages so that Jesus was born 4000 years after Creation when the Bible does not state this.

** In 2015, director Chris Buck jokingly claimed that he likes to think King Agnarr and Queen Iduna survived their shipwreck, ended up in the jungle and became [[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} Tarzan]]'s parents. Many fans took this as canon, even though it's not really consistent with the two films' details (Tarzan's parents look different from the king and queen, they escaped from a burning ship, not just a sunken one, the time periods don't match up, and they already had baby Tarzan with them, whereas Queen Iduna showed no sign of being pregnant when she and the king left on their voyage). Those who spread this statement also left out that Buck went on to say that he imagined that the films also take place in the same continuity as ''WesternAnimation/SurfsUp'', a film from Sony Animation also directed by Buck, demonstrating that it was meant in jest, since it would otherwise probably result in a legal disputes, given that two different studios are involved. In 2019, Buck finally confirmed that his comment was only meant as a joke.

->''"Street Spirit" is our purest song, but I didn’t write it. It wrote itself. We were just its messengers; its biological catalysts. Its core is a complete mystery to me, and, you know, I wouldn’t ever try to write something that hopeless. All of our saddest songs have somewhere in them at least a glimmer of resolve. Street Spirit has no resolve. It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end. It represents all tragic emotion that is so hurtful that the sound of that melody is its only definition. We all have a way of dealing with that song. It’s called detachment. Especially me; I detach my emotional radar from that song, or I couldn’t play it. I’d crack. I’d break down on stage. That’s why its lyrics are just a bunch of mini-stories or visual images as opposed to a cohesive explanation of its meaning. I used images set to the music that I thought would convey the emotional entirety of the lyric and music working together. That’s what’s meant by ‘all these things you’ll one day swallow whole’. I meant the emotional entirety, because I didn’t have it in me to articulate the emotion. I’d crack… Our fans are braver than I to let that song penetrate them, or maybe they don’t realise what they’re listening to. They don’t realise that Street Spirit is about staring the fucking devil right in the eyes, and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he’ll get the last laugh. And it’s real, and true. The devil really will get the last laugh in all cases without exception, and if I let myself think about that too long, I’d crack. I can’t believe we have fans that can deal emotionally with that song. That’s why I’m convinced that they don’t know what it’s about. It’s why we play it towards the end of our sets. It drains me, and it shakes me, and hurts like hell every time I play it, looking out at thousands of people cheering and smiling, oblivious to the tragedy of its meaning, like when you’re going to have your dog put down and it’s wagging its tail on the way there. That’s what they all look like, and it breaks my heart. I wish that song hadn’t picked us as its catalysts, and so I don’t claim it. It asks too much. I didn’t write that song."''