Pooja Bhatt reacts to false news of Poonam Pandey's death, deletes tweet

In response to the false reports of Poonam Pandey's passing, Pooja Bhatt deleted a previous tweet about the model-actor, who has come under fire for reportedly staging her own demise in order to raise awareness of cervical cancer. Pooja had already tweeted her sympathies in a since-deleted message. The Bigg Boss OTT 2 competitor referred to the entire experience as a "disgrace" in a recent tweet.

Pooja explained why she chose to delete her tweet about Poonam Pandey and wrote, “I never delete tweets but did so in the case where I expressed my shock at news of Poonam Pandey’s demise due to cervical cancer. Why? Turns out the news was engineered by a digital/PR team. Absolute disgrace & disservice to those battling the same-her included.”

It all began when Poonam's team posted on her official Instagram handle on Friday, "This morning is a tough one for us. Deeply saddened to inform you that we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer. Every living form that ever came in contact with her was met with pure love and kindness. In this time of grief, we would request for privacy while we remember her fondly for all that we shared." Her media manager Parul Chawla also confirmed the news of the actor's demise, as per news agency ANI.

Pooja had then tweeted on Friday, "So tragic to hear about Poonam Pandey. I had never met her, but when life claims someone so young it is always devastating. My prayers and deepest condolences to her family, friends and everyone whose life she impacted."

On Saturday, Poonam, via a video, shared that she is very much alive. In the video, she said, "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... Together, let’s strive to put an end to the devastating impact of the disease and bring," she added and revealed her publicity stunt.

Everyone on the internet was furious to learn of her fictitious death. Poonam apologised for the suicide stunt in a follow-up video and stated that her goal was to raise awareness of the illness. "I am sorry I caused this tear and I am sorry to those I have hurt. My intention: to shock everyone into the conversation that we are not talking enough about cervical cancer," she said.

She also said that the news of her supposed death served a “greater purpose.” "While I do understand how you would have perceived this in bad taste, I also implore you to consider the greater cause. Before passing judgement on the act, I urge you to recognise the alarming concern burdening women worldwide. The sheer lack of awareness surrounding this issue was the mere reason that compelled me to take this unconventional step," she said.

The government's intention to concentrate on cervical cancer vaccine for girls aged 9 to 14 as part of its interim Budget 2024 was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the day before the news of her fake death from the disease broke.

Linking the same, Poonam also added, “Just the day before, the Union Budget highlighted the cause as well but I can say with certainty that only a small fraction would've registered it. It's intriguing how such vital information was at the forefront yet failed to capture the press attention until the narrative took a dramatic turn with the news of my death to Cervical cancer.” The incident has sparked a memefest on the internet while many called for boycott calls against her.