Namewee Fakes His Death On April Fool's & Organises Wake At Nirvana KL For His 'Send-Off'
Namewee referred to the public stunt on April Fool's Day as "pre-death planning".
By Yap Wan Xiang — 02 Apr 2024, 01:07 PM
Controversial Malaysian and eccentric rapper-actor Namewee faked his death on April Fool's Day, 1 April, leaving fans and journalists confused until he admitted to the hoax more than 24 hours later
The announcement of his purported death was first posted on his social media pages at 12.02am yesterday.
The post featured a black-and-white photo of Namewee with "1983 to 2024" written on it.
At 4.52am, his accounts posted an "obituary", referring to himself as "The Ghosician", which is also the name of his 2021 album.
The "obituary" claimed that a wake would be held at Nirvana Centre in Kuala Lumpur on 1 April at between 2pm and 10pm.
"We respectfully decline all sorts of condolence wreaths, flower stands, money, obituaries, and memorial advertisements. No media coverage shall be permitted," read the notice.
At 2.52pm, another photo was uploaded, depicting Namewee's coffin decorated with flowers at the wake.
Thousands of netizens were confused by Namewee's apparent sudden death, prompting some to send their condolences to the Johor-born star
Malaysian model and musician Ms Puiyi was among the several celebrities who expressed sadness over Namewee's passing, saying that her friend's death was "87% likely to be true".
However, Namewee's claim was met with scepticism from the majority of netizens, who found the timing of his supposed death on April Fool's Day to be suspicious.
"Don't go overboard with the April Fool's prank," wrote an Instagram user.
When questioned by the media, Nirvana confirmed that Namewee's team had made a reservation for the venue
However, Nirvana did not confirm Namewee's death when responding to the queries by Sinchew Daily.
Meanwhile, a viral video posted on Facebook around noon yesterday showed a Sinchew Daily journalist and Namewee's spokesperson engaging in a heated argument when the reporter requested confirmation regarding his death.
"Please give us the truth and don't waste our resources," asserted the journalist, prompting the spokesperson to respond that Namewee never sought media coverage in the first place.
Below is the video of the altercation:
The confusion was put to rest at 2.20am today, 2 April, when Namewee referred to the public stunt as "pre-death planning"
"In one short day, I saw people who cared about me and people who didn't.
"I feel lucky that I was able to experience my funeral... A lot of things happened to me last year. I underwent so much pressure. My health showed warning signs, and I was in and out of hospital emergency rooms many times.
"Additionally, many friends around me, my pet who had been with me for 13 years, and many celebrities have left us... We were caught off guard by [their deaths]. This also made me realise the importance of 'pre-death planning'," Namewee wrote.
The rapper said he will release a documentary and a music video at 4.44pm on 4 April 2024 to commemorate his experience.
