Social media was in shock when news broke that Sulli (real name: Choi Jin-ri) had died at the tender age of 25. According to a police official, “It seems that she took her own life, but we are also looking into other possibilities.”
Most people believe that Sulli indeed committed suicide, seeing as she was pretty open about her struggles with panic attacks and online abuse from her f(x) days. She even went on hiatus back in 2014 after malicious comments circulated online.
SM Entertainment’s statement in 2014 mentioned that “f(x) member Sulli became mentally and physically exhausted from the continuous malicious comments and false rumors, and has expressed her wish to take a break from her celebrity activities for the time being.”
In 2015, Sulli left f(x) for good and turned to acting instead. In 2017, Sulli’s close friend Jonghyun of SHINee committed suicide at 27 years old. In 2018, Sulli openly talked about her experience with panic disorder and anxiety in her reality show ‘Jinri Store’. Earlier this year, she returned to music with a solo album called Goblin.
Despite all of the changes in her life, though, Sulli still struggled with online abuse, even asking in a recent Instagram Live video why people are talking about her that way. She even stated that she isn’t a bad person and that she doesn’t understand why there is so much hate out there.
Sulli’s manager had found her at her home in Seongnam after trying to contact her multiple times prior. If suicide really is the cause, please let this serve as a reminder to everyone to always be kind. You never know how your words might affect other people.
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