“I’m alive,” the 32-year-old actress revealed in a post shared 24 hours after her “death” announcement.
Indian actress Poonam Pandey has sparked debate online after her social media account posted a statement saying she had died after a battle with cervical cancer.
The real shock came 24 hours, however, when the very same account posted a video of the 32-year-old actress saying she was not only alive, but the initial post was actually a publicity stunt to raise awareness the disease.
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The first post went up on Friday on Pandey’s Instagram account saying her team was “saddned to inform” her 1.3 million followers that they had “lost out beloved Poonam to cervical cancer.”
“Every living form that ever came in contact with her was met with pure love and kindness,” the statement continued. “In this time of grief, we would request for privacy while we remember her fondly for all that we shared.”
Many followers trusted the post and sent their condolences to the family in the comments, while several news outlets also wrote about her supposed death.
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Then, a twist.
The next day, a video was posted showing Pandey speaking to the camera very much alive and well. She explained the purpose of the online stunt was actually part of a social media campaign to create awareness about cervical cancer.
“I’m alive. I didn’t die because of cervical cancer. Unfortunately, I cannot say that about those hundreds and thousands of women who have lost their lives because of cervical cancer,” she said, addressing the camera.
“Suddenly we all are talking about cervical cancer, aren’t we?” Pandey continued, before revealing that she was “proud” of what the statement managed to “achieve.”
Since the publicity campaign was revealed, social media users have been debating the method used to bring awareness to such a serious issue. Some have lashed out at the influencer for going so far as to fake her death to get her message across.
Poonam Pandey FAKING her Demise is the stupidest PUBLICITY STUNT. She thinks she has raised awarness?? SORRY BUT she and her BACKERS have literally TRIVILIASED the issue of cervical cancer#PoonamPandey pic.twitter.com/bldf6yLqEG
— Rosy (@rose_k01) February 3, 2024
@rose_k01
Poonam Pandey FAKING her Demise is the stupidest PUBLICITY STUNT. She thinks she has raised awarness?? SORRY BUT she and her BACKERS have literally TRIVILIASED the issue of cervical cancer#PoonamPandey pic.twitter.com/bldf6yLqEG
— Rosy (@rose_k01) February 3, 2024
@rose_k01
Her actions amount to fraud, breaching the trust of the public. The marginal gain in followers and morbid publicity might lead to legal consequences if someone decides to file an FIR.#PoonamPandey #PoonamPandeyDeath#PoonamPandeyDead pic.twitter.com/kCsgZChbXS
— Systummm (@liberal_thug07) February 3, 2024
@liberal_thug07
Others, however, have praised Pandey for bringing attention to the issue at hand.
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Indian celebrity Poonam Pandey staged her own death on social media to raise awareness about cervical cancer. While the stunt sparked significant online backlash, it also ignited a nationwide conversation about this largely-preventable disease
pic.twitter.com/PgGMjLWyUU
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 6, 2024
@AJEnglish
Per the BBC, cervical cancer is the second-most common cancer in women in India, with 77,000 dying from the disease every year.
Schbang, the agency behind the stunt, addressed some of the backlash it received over the weekend on Instagram.
“We would like to extend a heartfelt apology — especially towards those who have been triggered as a result of having faced/having a loved one face the hardships of any kind of cancer,” they wrote, before adding that Pandey’s mother battled cancer.
“The act by Poonam has now resulted in making ‘Cervical Cancer’ and its related terms the most searched topic(s) on Google,” they added, before saying they are “deeply apologetic to those who may have been hurt due to this initiative.”
“While we regret any distress caused, if the move results in spreading much needed awareness and preventing deaths, that would be its real impact,” they concluded, before sharing screen shots of people praising them for the stunt.
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