Poonam Pandey not considered for government's cervical cancer awareness campaign ambassador: Health ministry officials

Actor Poonam Pandey is not being considered as the brand ambassador of the government's national campaign to spread awareness on cervical cancer, Union health ministry officials said on Wednesday.

The clarification came after sources said Pandey is likely to be the face of the campaign and she and her team are in talks with ministry officials.

Earlier this month, news of Pandey's "death" from the disease dominated the headlines and led to intense debate on social media. It later turned out that the news was fake and was a stunt pulled off by the actor and her team to spread "critical awareness" about cervical cancer.

Stung by the widespread criticism of her faking her ‘death’ from cervical cancer, controversial model and actress Poonam Pandey stuck to her guns in her latest Instagram post that says, “Kill me, crucify me, hate me, but save someone you love.”

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The marketing agency named Schbang, who was behind this campaign in association with Pandey, also issued an apology saying, “Yes, we were involved in the initiative for Poonam Pandey to spread awareness about Cervical Cancer in collaboration with Hauterfly.

“To start off, we would like to extend a heartfelt apology — especially towards those who have been triggered as a result of having faced / having a loved one face the hardships of any kind of Cancer.”

Explaining the dramatic announcement that many saw as a cheap PR stunt, the statement issued by Pandey’s agency noted: “Our actions were driven by a singular mission — to elevate awareness about Cervical Cancer. In 2022, India registered 123,907 Cervical Cancer cases and 77,348 deaths.

“After Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer is the second-most frequent malignancy affecting middle aged women in India. Many of you may be unaware but Poonam’s own mother has bravely battled Cancer.

The polarizing reveal

Pandey then shared a video on her Instagram account and spilled the news she was alive and this was a campaign to spread awareness about the aforementioned disease.

The reactions

Barring a handful of reactions that were in favour, particularly by Ram Gopal Varma, most of the celebrities and fans slammed the actress for her insensitivity and desperate measures to create a discourse.

“Ridiculous”, “disgraceful” and “a new low” is how internet users and several celebrities reacted to actor-model Poonam Pandey’s reappearance on social media a day after her team claimed that she died from cervical cancer.

With added inputs from agencies