Action star Jet Li has broken his silence following rumours over his poor health, with a recent photo circulating on social media purportedly showing him in a frail state.
The Beijing-born Li, 55, who became a Singapore citizen in 2009, was seen in a photo with an unidentified man assisting him while visiting a temple in Tibet.
Li, who starred in films such as Lethal Weapon 4 and Kiss Of The Dragon, addressed the rumours for the first time in a Facebook post on Wednesday night (May 23): "I would like to thank all my fans who expressed concerns about my health. I'm doing great and feeling great!"
He added: "I'm excited to share with you all a few projects I am working on in the near future. For now, thank you all for your concerns!"
As of Thursday afternoon, his Facebook post had received over 58,000 likes and 3,170 shares.
Many fans from across the world were grateful that he had put the rumours to rest and several of them wished him a speedy recovery.
"Best of luck Master Li, Polish fans already got around to speak about you, and we also sending our energy and thoughts around you," said Facebook user Liu G. Dredd.
"It's good that you say you are getting better, let the spirit take care of you."
Li also shared a light-hearted video on Chinese social media platform Weibo of him tackling the recent speculation.
In the video, he said that someone had given him a "longevity potion" during his trip and he will live a long life, so fans need not worry about him.
In 2010, Li was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which causes symptoms such as muscle weakness and sleeping problems.
Years later, in a 2016 interview with The Straits Times, Li said that media reports of his health were greatly exaggerated.
On Wednesday, Li's manager Steve Chasman admitted that the man in the viral photo was Li, but he quashed online rumours over the actor's poor health, telling USA Today that Li is "completely fine".
"There's no life-threatening illness. He's in great shape."
He pointed out that one photo cannot really provide the big picture of Li's condition.
"It's one picture and people are making these interpretations from it. If you took a picture of me at the wrong angle and wrong time of the day, I could look frail as well."
