Actor who “died getting surgeries to look like BTS’ Jimin” was AI generated

You might have seen several news stories about the death of a Canadian actor who spent US$220,000 on 12 surgeries to look like BTS member Park Jimin allegedly. The report has been proven false, and Daily Mail has removed it from its website.

Last week, Daily Mail reported that a 22-year-old man called Saint Von Colucci had developed an infection from a cosmetic procedure he had months prior. The actor was intubated and later died in a hospital in South Korea on Sunday.

Daily Mail based the story on communication with a man who identified himself as Eric Blake, who claimed he was Von Colucci’s publicist. He said the artist — who we now know was AI-generated — moved to South Korea in 2019, hoping to make it in the music industry.

Blake said his client was “very unhappy about his appearance” and “discriminated against his Western looks.”

Blake said Colucci had a dozen surgeries that included jaw surgery, implants, a nose job, and a lip reduction, among other procedures.

Despite the risks of jaw implant surgery, Blake stated that the actor still decided on the procedure because “he didn’t like the shape of it because he thought it was too wide and wanted a V-shape, the shape many Asians have.”

The publicist also claimed that Colucci was cast in the K-drama Pretty Lies, where he stars as an international student, and that he was “very excited and worked really hard” and hoped that the show would help launch his music career.