A vegan influencer who lived entirely on a diet of exotic fruit, juices, and sunflower seeds while living in Malaysia has reportedly “died of starvation and exhaustion.”
According to friends and family, Zhanna Samsonova frequently promoted raw foods while eschewing meat to her millions of followers on social media.
The Russian national reportedly died on July 21, aged 39, LBC News reports.
She was known to her millions of viewers on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram as Zhanna D’Art
“A few months ago, in Sri Lanka, she already looked exhausted, with swollen legs oozing lymph,” an unidentified friend reportedly said.
“They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified.”
It’s understood that Samsonova’s lifeless body was discovered by a friend who lived on the floor beneath her who feared this situation might arise one day: “I convinced her to seek treatment, but she didn’t make it.”
In her last Instagram post seven weeks ago she was exited about the start of durian season in Thailand.
She wrote: “It’s that fabulous time of year again – Durian Season in Thailand! Wake Up And Smell the Durian! For all you durian lovers out there, isn’t it just the best? And for those who haven’t yet experienced the joy of durian, you’re in for a wild ride!”
Samsonova’s mother attributed her death to a “cholera-like infection” but her official cause of death has not been revealed.
For the past four years, the late vegan was a proponent of uncooked fruit and vegetables, claiming she ate a “completely raw vegan diet”, consuming just “fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juices”.
Earlier in the year she posted numerous photos of colourful vegan burgers, raw pizzas, “rainbow sushi rolls” and cakes.
Zhanna’s mother said she had tried to stop her daughter from continuing with her radical diet, but she did not agree, according to local newspaper Vechernyaya Kazan.