Malaysian rapper Namewee confirms ‘obituary’ on April Fools’ Day was staged
A day after his speculated “death”, Namewee emerged to let the world know that he is, in fact, very much alive and well.
Source: Namewee on Facebook
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (2 April), the Malaysian rapper released a statement explaining how he staged his own funeral to touch on the matter of “pre-death planning”.
“On this very short day, I was deeply moved. I saw the people who really cared about me,” he wrote, adding that he was “lucky” he got to witness his own funeral.
He also hosted the event to promote his upcoming documentary and new song.
Namewee held his “memorial” on the night of April Fools’ Day (1 April).
Announced his own death on April Fool’s day
On Monday, Namewee released several posts on Facebook and Instagram seemingly announcing his death.
His “farewell ceremony” was set to take place at Nirvana Center in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia.
Source: Namewee 黃明志 on Facebook
In response to queries from Sin Chew Daily, Namewee’s management confirmed the venue for his “farewell ceremony” but not whether he had actually passed.
Many netizens were sure the announcements were part of an April Fools’ prank.
However, speculations intensified when fans who attended the event confirmed that the “farewell ceremony” did indeed take place.
What confirmed the rapper’s death for most was a bizarre photo of a man taking a selfie with someone who looked like Namewee — lying in what appeared to be a coffin.
Source: Facebook
Namewee staged death for content
In his most recent Facebook post, Namewee explained that he plans to make his staged farewell ceremony part of a documentary on the importance of “pre-planning for one’s death”.
This comes after he had a tough 2023, where he experienced several health issues.
He also mourned the death of his 13-year-old pet and lost people close to him.
“When facing death, we should not avoid talking about it, but face it bravely,” he wrote.
Event was not April Fools’ joke
Namewee reiterated that his pre-death funeral was no laughing matter despite the day it was held.
“Although it was held on April Fools’ Day, we were not joking, this was a serious and solemn event,” he stressed.
Source: Namewee 黃明志 on Facebook
He chose to hold the event before the Qing Ming Festival, a day to pay respects to one’s ancestors.
Namewee hopes the event allowed fans and attendees to view death in a more “relaxed mood”.
Namewee unhappy with ‘death’ coverage
The rapper, also a Mass Communication graduate, added that he was “disappointed” by how Malaysian media outlets handled the coverage of his “funeral”.
Namewee accused the media industry of being “unprofessional”, “irresponsible”, and “inconsistent” with their reporting methods.
“We never proactively sent press releases to any media outlets or responded to anything. All the so-called ‘news’ you see are all lies and rumours, and they are not true,” he wrote.
Namewee’s documentary ‘Farewell Documentary’ and the music video for his new song ‘When I’m Gone’ will premiere on Thursday (4 April).
Also read: Woman in S’pore holds living funeral 1 week before dying from cancer, more than 30 people attend
Woman in S’pore holds living funeral 1 week before dying from cancer, more than 30 people attend
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Featured image adapted from Namewee 黃明志 on Facebook and  Facebook.Â
