Chinese actor Jet Li dispels years of death rumours, returns to the spotlight to promote biography
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — After years of speculation and rumours regarding his poor health and even death, Chinese action legend Jet Li has come out to say he is alive and well.
“I’m not dead yet,” Li said In his first public appearance in years at a press conference on Thursday (November 16).
“Some people wish it’s true. Some say, ‘He’s still not dead yet? After so many reports of his death, he’s still not actually dead’.”
“There are still rumours in China saying that I’ve died. It’s been 10 years.”
In recent years, the reclusive star has made few public appearances and has no social media.
In 2018, a picture surfaced online of Li in Tibet looking particularly frail which sparked rumours online that he was terminally ill.
Li’s manager Steven Chasman quickly dispelled the rumours then and said he was still ‘in great shape’.
The Hero star admitted that he did suffer an episode of poor health in 2010 during the production of the drama film Ocean Heaven.
In the film, Li played a father dealing with liver cancer. He said he shed a lot of weight for the role, which caused a loss of appetite.
He was later diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a condition that causes weight loss and fatigue and takes medication to keep it at bay.
Li was promoting his latest biography Beyond Life And Death: Jet Li Looking For Jet Li, a look inside the actor’s life and spiritual journey.
He hopes the book will be able to advise those who have mental health issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Every negative can be turned into a positive and the process turns worries into enlightenment,” he added.
