Bollywood Star Sued for Faking Death

Actress Poonam Pandey got the brilliant idea that faking her own death would bring more awareness to cervical cancer and the vaccine to help prevent it.

So, on February 2, her Instagram page, which boasted more than 1.3 million followers at the time, featured a post from her agent, Nikita Sharm, that the actress had passed away from the disease.

It was all a prank, however, and now she is being sued for it.

Psyche!

Sharma posted on the page that Pandey had "bravely fought the disease" but had "tragically passed away.”

The next day, there was another post made to the page, this time by Pandey.

She posted, "I’m alive, I didn’t die because of cervical cancer.

"Unfortunately, I can’t say that about the hundreds of thousands of women who have lost their lives because of cervical cancer. I’m here to tell you that, unlike other cancers, cervical cancer is preventable, all you have to do is get a test and you have to get HPV vaccine.

"We can do all this and more to make sure there are no more lives lost to this disease.”

Her post concluded with a link to a website with information about cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine.

Needless to say, this was not received very well by fans and at least one of her fellow Bollywood actors, Faizan Ansari.

Ansari filed a lawsuit against Pandey and her husband, Sam Bombay, for $12 million.

He stated that her "false conspiracy of death" has trivialized real illnesses as well as betraying the trust of their millions of fans.

In addition to the $12 million, the lawsuit is demanding the couple be arrested and face defamation charges.

Her followers would appear to agree, with one posting, "Am happy she is alive but pls arrest her for this drama and publicity stunt.”

Another responded, "Exploiting a serious issue like cervical cancer for cheap publicity is absolutely disgraceful. Using your platform to spread awareness is commendable, but faking your own death is a new low. Respect for real survivors and victims matters more than attention-seeking stunts. #Disappointed."

Pandey eventually deleted the death-related posts and put up another post apologizing for the blowback and disappointing her fans.

Even, so, she did not seem to regret anything that she had done, writing, "Yes, I faked my demise. Extreme, I know. But suddenly we all are talking about cervical cancer, aren’t we?

"It’s a disease that silently takes a life and this disease needed the spotlight urgently.

"I am proud of what my death news has been able to achieve.

"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."

If Bollywood had any integrity at all, this woman would never even see another script, let alone be hired again.