Internet celebrity's suicide hype
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 21, 2012
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Sister Furong [File photo] |
On Sept. 19, the notorious Chinese Internet celebrity Sister Furong, or Sister Lotus, said "farewell to the world" on her microblog, causing netizens to think that she may commit suicide.
As Chinese media reached out for verification, several bloggers said on Weibo.com, an online social media platform similar to twitter, that Sister Furong had died on the afternoon of Sept. 20. But her manager fiercely denied this allegation with a press release claiming that she is still alive.
"Thank you for your concern regarding Sister Furong," the press release said, "The blog was actually written by Sister Furong herself, but she's safe now. We will tell the public what really happened when her emotional state has stabilized."
"As for these suicide allegations published by verified users on the microblog site yesterday, they were all false and we are investigating it."
The manager also denied this is a publicity stunt by Sister Furong and some self-called "associates". He said: "We are angry about this. Sister Furong has been working hard and never participated in any kind of hype."
Observers said this may be due to tremendous public pressure, but the truth is still unknown.
At 2 PM on Sept. 19, Sister Furong wrote the first tweet that she's leaving Beijing which "brought her only pain," "I will never come back, give me best wishes and best wishes to all those who love and care about me, thank you."
At 5 PM, she tweeted again, "Farewell, the world!"
Sister Furong became popular in 2004 with her infamous S-shaped posture photos, along with other online but low-class photos. Internet users attacked her as "ugly," "shameless," "disgusting" and "self-boastful". She was then invited to perform and act in several galas, films and concerts.
Eight years later, on July 8, 2011, Sister Furong successfully lost weight and came back into the media’s spotlight. She was beautiful, compared to what she used to be, wearing surprisingly attractive make-up for a photo shoot at Tsinghua University. When the photos were posted online, thousands of Internet users were stunned by her transformation, and began calling her "Inspiring Sister."
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