Actress Rita Edochie has strongly condemned the spreading of death rumour about her colleague, Osita Iheme, popularly known as Pawpaw.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Rita revealed that the actor’s death had been falsely reported twice, with many social media users buying into the fake news and mourning him in the comments section.
Rita expressed frustration over the growing trend of death hoaxes targeting Nigerian celebrities.
She shared how in the past, similar rumors had been circulated about her, with a photo from a movie set being used to spread false reports of her demise.
The actress, who is also the sister-in-law of veteran actor Pete Edochie, criticised social media for causing harm, despite its potential to benefit Nigerian youth.
She called out the practice of bloggers and content creators using death rumors to generate engagement and traffic, describing it as “madness.”
Rita emphasised that such actions were reckless and disrespectful.
“If one blogger or hungry social media content creator hasn’t been mercilessly dealt with, the rest won’t learn,” she said, suggesting that those spreading these harmful rumors need to face the consequences.
Rita questioned why people would wish untimely death on celebrities simply to gain traffic and attention.
She recounted a time when bloggers falsely claimed that Pete had died after traveling to the United States, just as they had previously spread rumors about her own death following her role in the film Calabash.
“This is madness, and it must stop,” Rita declared, adding that growing one’s social media presence should not come at the expense of spreading falsehoods and death rumors.
She ended with a poignant message: “If we all die today, as celebrities, who will you watch?”
