NEW DELHI – An Indian model sparked an online backlash on Feb 3 after revealing she had faked her death in an Instagram post as part of a cervical cancer awareness campaign.
Ms Poonam Pandey “bravely fought the disease” and died, according to a statement published on her social media on Feb 2.
A flurry of obituaries from media outlets followed and her Wikipedia page was also updated to reflect her supposed death, while Bollywood stars posted mournful tributes.
But others expressed scepticism after noticing that footage of Ms Pandey aboard a boat in Goa, apparently in good health, had been posted to her account four days before the announcement.
The 32-year-old admitted to her 1.3 million followers the next day that her death had been a hoax.
“Yes, I faked my demise. Extreme, I know. But suddenly we all are talking about cervical cancer, aren’t we?” Ms Pandey said in a video posted on Instagram.
“I am proud of what my death news has been able to achieve.”
However, many lambasted Ms Pandey for what one described as her “attention-seeking behaviour”. Another wrote: “Engaging in a deceptive stunt, like faking one’s death, under the guise of ‘raising awareness’... is not only unethical but also manipulative. Honestly, shame on you for this stunt. Next time, no one will take your real death seriously!”
Ms Pandey began her modelling career in 2010 and has garnered a reputation for outlandish stunts and risque behaviour.
She pledged to strip for the Indian cricket team if it won the 2011 Cricket World Cup at home, later posting a video online of her shedding her clothes at Wankhede Stadium where the tournament’s final was held.
Ms Pandey parleyed her fame into several acting credits in Bollywood, including the 2013 erotic thriller Nasha, in which she played a teacher who begins a sexual relationship with two high school students.
India accounts for nearly a fourth of the world’s cervical cancer cases, according to the World Health Organisation, with more than 200 women losing their lives every day to the disease. Health campaigners have urged the government to roll out a human papillomavirus vaccination campaign for young girls, which in other countries has drastically cut the incidence of cervical cancer. AFP
