Ram Gopal Varma Lied About Having Coronavirus As An April Fools' Day Prank; Netizens Blast Him

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has admitted to lying about COVID-19 diagnosis in "a sick" April Fools' joke. In a post, shared on Twitter, Varma told his 4 million followers that his doctor informed him he was tested positive with the novel coronavirus.

Of course, this caused Varma's fans to worry. But after receiving an outpouring of comments from his followers, he later admitted that his coronavirus diagnosis was not real.

"My doctor just told me that I tested positive with Corona," Varma first tweeted.

In a subsequent post, Varma wrote, "Sorry to disappoint, but now he tells me it’s a April Fool joke Flushed face it’s his fault and not mine."

However, his tasteless April Fools' Day prank backfired with many of his followers voicing their disapproval.

One user commented, "Sir please this 'CORONA VIRUS' is nothing to joke about. This is a Pandemic.. People are dying.. I pray that this joke of yours should never come true." (sic)

Another tweeted, "Take action please. Being a celebrity he shouldn't do this in this situation. He was literally panicking public. Strict action should be needed." (sic)

Later, Varma wrote that he wanted to "sincerely apologise" for his tweet and he was only "trying to make light of a grim situation."