Poonam Pandey claims stakeholders of fake death stunt 'got shivers', sent her legal notice

Poonam Pandey

Earlier this month, model and actress Poonam Pandey sparked national outrage with her fake death news. The model faked death due to cervical cancer to raise awareness. While the marketing gimmick attracted media attention and an increased search in cervical cancer, it also drew a lot of criticism for faking someone's death.

Days after the campaign, Poonam deleted the death post and the video spreading awareness of cervical cancer from her social media handle. She has now claimed that her team has received legal notice from stakeholders associated with the fake death stunt. Taking to her Instagram handle, she wrote, ‘So now that I said truth shall be revealed, the stakeholders have got the shivers. And sent us a legal notice.' She also added the praying hands emoji in the caption. Have a look at the same.

Meanwhile, three days ago, Schbang, the digital marketing agency responsible for the Poonam Pandey campaign, issued an apology. Their statement read, "To everyone, those hurt or not hurt by the campaign, our Schbangers, partners, friends, families and the young talent considering their career choice in advertising, we are deeply sorry. We know the end doesn't justify the means."

The post also went on to thank The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for helping the agency rectify its mistakes and for laying the seeds of a strong foundation for 'auditing future campaign ideas'.

Legal trouble for Poonam Pandey:

After the fake death stunt, many had asked authorities to take action against the model. According to reports, Poonam and her former husband Sam Bombay have been slapped with a Rs 100 crore defamation case by Faizan Ansari. As reported by Pinkvilla, Ansari, who filed the complaint, accused Poonam Pandey of "trivializing the seriousness of cancer and manipulating the emotions and trust of millions" by faking her own death. In his complaint, he has requested the police to arrest Poonam and her ex-husband.

Ansari has also filed an FIR with the Kanpur Police Commissioner. The FIR stated, "Poonam Pandey and her husband Sam Bombay conspired to stage her death, making a mockery of a serious illness like cancer. Poonam Pandey orchestrated this stunt for her personal publicity, betraying the trust of millions of Indians and the entire Bollywood industry."

For the unversed, on February 2nd, the actress's Instagram account confirmed her demise due to cervical cancer. The post read, "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 privacy while we remember her fondly for all that we shared."

A day after the news of her death, she released a video revealing that she faked her death for the awareness campaign. In the video, she spreads awareness about cervical cancer, saying, "I am alive. I didn't die because of cervical cancer. Unfortunately, I cannot say that about those thousands of women who have lost their lives due to Cervical Cancer. It is not because they couldn't do anything about it, but because they had no idea what to do about it. I am here to tell you that, unlike other cancers, cervical cancer is curable."