Actor Jet Li rebuts rumours of heart transplant or blood transfusion to maintain youth
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Jet Li turned off beauty filters in his latest video on social media, where he refuted rumours that he had gone for a heart transplant or blood transfusion.
PHOTO: JET LI/XIAOHONGSHU
SINGAPORE – Action movie star Jet Li has taken to social media once again to refute rumours over his supposedly youthful looks.
Over the past few months, the 62-year-old has been dogged by rumours that he had gone for a heart transplant or blood transfusion to improve his appearance. This was said to be a far cry from his looks in photos circulated online several years ago, when he seemed aged and frail.
The China-born artiste posted on social media on Dec 6 a 2min 48sec video titled: “Instead of constantly changing this and that, why not change your mindset?”
He turned off beauty filters in the video, revealing wrinkles around his eyes and forehead.
To prove that he had not received a heart transplant, Li bared his upper body in a social media video on Nov 1 to show that he had no surgical scars. However, some netizens remained unconvinced and even suspected he had used artificial skin to cover his scars.
“A car engine can be replaced if it breaks down, and a battery can be replaced if it is not working,” Li said on Dec 6. “But if there’s nothing wrong with your heart, why take the risk of replacing it?”
He pointed out that heart transplants carry the risk of organ rejection, making this practice almost impossible to justify for the sake of youth.
“Some people say that blood transfusions can make you younger, but is this procedure legal? Are stem cells for treating illnesses or for youth? If it’s just for youth, isn’t a facelift or minor cosmetic procedures simpler?”
Li questioned the ultimate purpose of investing massive effort and resources in maintaining one’s youth, emphasising that one’s mindset is important.
“The key is whether a person is happy and feeling at ease,” he said. “If I can live to 150 or 300 years old, but my physical and mental state remains at 70 or 80, I’d rather not. Isn’t prolonging that state to 150 or 300 years a form of suffering?”
He added that even if life can be extended, “the hardware will eventually break down”.
In August, he made the news after uploading a video of himself in hospital. He disclosed later that he had gone for an operation to remove a lump on the right side of his neck. It turned out to be a benign tumour.
Li offered three ways to look young: dyeing one’s hair, applying make-up and using beauty filters. “‘Becoming’ younger is really simple,” he added.
