Model and actor Poonam Pandey pulled off what can be called one of the most disappointing and insensitive publicity stunts of all time and no matter what she says, she can’t make it better. Recently, her team took to her social media account to announce that she had passed away due to cervical cancer. All her fans, followers and the general public were mourning her death and raising awareness about cervical cancer. Their hearts reached out to her family and friends.
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The news of her alleged passing grabbed innumerable headlines and it started to trend on social media, with numerous condolences pouring from various parts of the country. However, all of this was fake.
Poonam Pandey went on to upload videos of her the next day saying that she was in fact alive but wanted to raise awareness of cervical cancer.
“I feel compelled to share something significant with you all – I am here, alive. Cervical Cancer didn’t claim me, but tragically, it has claimed the lives of thousands of women who stemmed from a lack of knowledge on how to tackle this disease. Unlike some other cancers, Cervical Cancer is entirely preventable. The key lies in the HPV vaccine and early detection tests. We have the means to ensure no one loses their life to this disease. Let’s empower one another with critical awareness and ensure every woman is informed about the steps to take. Visit the link in the bio to delve deeper into what can be done. Together, let’s strive to put an end to the devastating impact of the disease and bring #DeathToCervicalCancer,” she wrote on Instagram.
Have a look at her video here:
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Let us tell you why a publicity stunt like this, even when it is for a good cause, is downright unacceptable and infuriating. First, pulling off something like this is completely disregarding her audience’s trust and her own credibility. She has inappropriately sensationalized a fake incident to gain media attention. This takes away genuine attention and awareness surrounding what truly matters. And second, this stunt is disrespectful of actual cervical cancer patients and families who’ve actually lost a loved one to this disease.
Poonam Pandey faced massive backlash online despite her posting a long justification of her actions.
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Here’s what people online had to say about her publicity stunt:
Engaging in a deceptive stunt, like faking one’s death, under the guise of “raising awareness” for is not only unethical but also manipulative.
Such attention-seeking behaviors not only exploit the emotions of fans (if she has), her onlyfans subscribers and loved ones but also…
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) February 3, 2024
This is shameful, not the right way to spread awareness.
However it’s a good news that she is alive ❤️
— desi mojito 🇮🇳 (@desimojito) February 3, 2024
I had told yday only it looked fabricated!
You don’t die of cancer like this suddenly!
There must be strong legal action against her for spreading misinformation— Dr. Maulik Modi (@iamthemaulik) February 3, 2024
She was always known for pulling off such stunts in extremely poor taste.
My sympathies to those who were giving some glowing tributes to her, asking people to be kind etc.
If anything, it is these influencers who should be kind to us, by not lying for marketing.
SHAMEFUL!
— Tamil Labs 2.0 (@labstamil) February 3, 2024
When faking death is for attention seeking. Shameful.
There are lots of ways to create awareness on cervical cancer, this silly idea isn’t it. https://t.co/4Y542rMxyv— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) February 3, 2024
This is in no way spreading awareness
about cervical cancer on the contrary
its mocking and demeaning for the people who actually are suffering from it. https://t.co/dwApxAcgFI pic.twitter.com/DuW8EfUbSu— MaxK 🇮🇳 (@kalpeshxattarde) February 3, 2024
As a cancer survivor (who is not out of the woods entirely), this ‘stunt’ has been triggering.
I’m a big votary for creating awareness, but using ‘cancer’ and ‘death’ as marketing gimmicks surely aren’t it.
DON’T USE CANCER FOR CHEAP PUBLICITY. https://t.co/x6QF47pk8u
— Poulomi Saha (@PoulomiMSaha) February 3, 2024
Absolutely disgusting publicity stunt. Does this shameless woman even realise what cancer patients go through every single day? They know death is looming around and then news like this comes out and there goes even the small flicker of hope that they will be fine one day. https://t.co/pxKa8Ebp1y
— 𝑨𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒊 𝑮𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒂𝒏 🍁 (@h_hazra) February 3, 2024
The most stupid shit on social media today. This seemed less of an awareness campaign and more of an attention whoring act. This entire drama is insensitive to actual cancer patients. https://t.co/5n3iXO2yWL
— Arjun* (@mxtaverse) February 3, 2024
This is simply unacceptable, unethical and downright disgusting.