Saint Von Colucci’s family allegedly plans to sue journalists for ‘baseless hoax claims’
By Bryan Ke
A new press release states that the parents of Saint Von Colucci, the Canadian actor who allegedly died of jaw implant surgery complications in South Korea, are planning to sue the South Korean talent agency that purportedly employed their son and the journalists who claimed his supposed death was a hoax.
The press release, which was sent out on April 1 and shared with NextShark by Mixed Asian Media, also claims that Colucci’s family had scheduled a funeral for their son in Montreal on Friday.
Adriana Ruthman, the Gopapa Media representative who sent the press release, claimed in an accompanying email to Mixed Asian Media that Colucci’s family has been “deeply hurt and traumatized” by the reports of two unnamed “amateur journalists.”
Ruthman slammed “baseless hoax claims” made by the journalists, stating they were “ridiculous and proofless.” Ruthman continued in the email, “Random online tests run on unreliable AI image detection websites are not proof,” referring to reports that some purported images of Colucci were found to be likely generated by AI by such analysis.
The news of Colucci’s alleged sudden death quickly circulated online after the Daily Mail reported that the “Canadian-Portuguese actor, singer, and songwriter” succumbed to complications related to jaw implants he received in November 2022 or order to look like Jimin of the K-pop boy group BTS.
A few days after several international media outlets began covering the news, Daily Mail silently took down its report.
Ruthman explained in the email that they requested the takedown “due to the family’s frustration over the repercussions and the conspiracy theories created by irresponsible conspiracy theorists.”
Ruthman added that they have taken back control of Colucci’s Instagram account, which they allege was hacked last week. They also said their team could not reply to messages as they were “dealing with a unique, unprecedented situation.”
The press release gave alleged details on what Colucci’s life was when he arrived in South Korea, stating that the unnamed South Korean agency he signed with took away his freedom when they began prioritizing his role in the drama “Pretty Lies” (“Cogimar” in Korean) and his other singing projects.
“According to texts he sent to his parents, he would often cry alone in the practice studios. The singer and actor worked 12–15 hours straight in the studio from Sunday to Saturday in the past year,” the press release stated.
In addition to the long work hours, the press release also claimed that the Canadian Portuguese singer was only paid $25,000, with a monthly allowance of $200, and was made to sign non-disclosure agreements to ghostwrite for other artists.
Colucci was also “forced to act feminine, wear makeup” and engage in “acting-cute behavior,” according to the press release.
The press release appeared to explain that his music projects were pulled after a conflict of interest between his American and South Korean managements.
It was stated that his American management allegedly wanted him to become a viral TikTok star, while the South Korean counterpart wanted him to take the traditional K-pop route.
Colucci’s South Korean management allegedly wanted to erase his social media presence, but his American managers purportedly fought to keep his online accounts up and under their control.
“As time went by, the conflicts between the agencies only aggravated, and projects already announced to the public were pulled off at the last minute over execution disputes,” the press release stated.
Following his alleged sudden death, the production company behind “Pretty Lies” also placed the show on “indefinite hold until it decides if it will be aired or not,” the press release added.
Meanwhile, Colucci’s parents are allegedly looking to sue the South Korean agency, with the press release stating that they are planning to return to South Korea to “initiate legal proceedings.”
“The parents have also decided to take legal action against the journalists for making false claims about their son’s death and existence while senselessly calling it a hoax while having no proof to support such claims,” the press release added.
NextShark has reached out to The Hype Company PR and Gopapa Media for clarifications. Out of the three email addresses contacted, only Ruthman’s email did not return with an “Address not found” notice from Google.
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