Indonesian celebrity who said she would auction virginity on Instagram for ‘warriors against coronavirus’ was ‘being sarcastic’

Sarah Keihl had told her Instagram followers bids would start from US$135,000 and funds would be donated to ‘all the warriors against Covid-19’

But she took down the video after a public backlash and now claims she was misunderstood

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Sarah Keihl, as pictured on her Instagram page.

Published: 9:14pm, 22 May 2020Updated: 9:58pm, 22 May 2020

An Indonesian celebrity who said she would auction her virginity on Instagram with a starting bid of 2 billion rupiah (US$135,486) to raise money for health care workers fighting Covid-19 has claimed she was just being “sarcastic” after prompting a backlash.

Sarah Keihl, 24, posted a brief video clip which went viral on Wednesday announcing her plans for the auction.

“I, Sarah, am making the biggest decision of my life to auction my virginity, starting from 2 billion rupiah. One hundred per cent of the funds will be donated to all the warriors against Covid-19 and whoever else needs money,” said Keihl.

“Thank you and I hope you can take the positive from this,” she added.

Sarah Keihl, as she appears in the video clip announcing the auction. Image: Instagram

She said she was holding the auction because the virus had hit the economy hard and many Indonesians were suffering, especially daily wage earners and the lower middle class.

But Keihl, who has 339,000 followers on Instagram, took the video down an hour later after coming in for heavy criticism.