PETALING JAYA, April 2 — South Korean singer Kim Jae-joong caused a stir on his Instagram page yesterday when he said that he had tested positive for Covid-19, only to reveal hours later that it was a lie.
He later edited his post to clarify that it was a prank intended to shock people into acknowledging the severity of the pandemic. “Oh, and I don’t think of this as an April Fool’s joke. My family and my friends are getting sick and dying. It’s never just someone else’s problem,” wrote Kim in his updated caption.The One Kiss singer received massive backlash from social media users who didn’t take kindly to him deliberately lying about contracting the deadly virus.
“This made me feel certain that this is not something that is happening far away, and it made me more scared. Self-reflecting after losing someone is no help at all.”