Indian model and actress Poonam Pandey has said she faked her own death in an attempt to raise awareness about cervical cancer.
It was announced on social media that the 32-year-old ''bravely fought the disease’’, but later claimed the stunt was part of a cervical cancer awareness campaign.
The story led to all media outlets, including Pandey’s Wikipedia page, to reflect her apparent death.
Additionally, some Bollywood celebrities posted mournful tributes, whereas others remained suspicious.
This is due to the fact that she seemed in relatively good health just four days prior and had posted about enjoying boating.
The faked death caused an outrage with people criticising her “deceptive stunt”.
In fact, one commenter said: “I hope this is not a publicity stunt disguised as creating awareness about cervical cancer, which would be unethical and irresponsible, especially when dealing with sensitive issues like health awareness."
Though Pandey seemed unbothered about the criticism, she later admitted that her death had in fact, been a deception, stating “Yes, I faked my demise, extreme I know.’’
She added, “I am proud of what my death news has been able to achieve.’’
Additionally, Pandey thanked the advertising firm Schbang for the campaign, giving a presumptuous statement of ''suddenly we all are talking about cervical cancer, aren’t we?’’
She continued that ''we believe in this cause and stand by this campaign that we started working on four months ago with the right intentions.’’
Though many criticised her behaviour as ''attention-seeking,’’ ''unethical’’ and ''manipulative.’’
Pandey started her modelling career in 2010, and has gained 1.3 million followers on her Instagram account. She is well known for her eccentric stunts and salacious behaviour in several Bollywood movies.
According to the World Health Organisation, India accounts for almost a quarter of the world’s cervical cancer cases with more than 200 women succumbing to the disease daily.
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