Source: Wikimedia Commons
The actress is no stranger to controversy. Initially winning praise for calling out nepotism in the industry, she has now become a polarising figure both inside as well as outside the industry.
She is infamous for using social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to launch scathing attacks on celebrities and colleagues and making unsubstantiated accusations. She is notorious for routinely tweeting unverified and communal remarks.
One of her many conjectural remarks that left many nonplussed came in the form of a tweet questioning what covid patients were doing to “compensate” for the oxygen they are “forcefully drawing from the environment”.
This tweet of hers came at a time where the country is battling the surge in cases of the virus as high as never before and people struggling to acquire medicines and beds in hospitals.
The Suspension
Blatantly criticizing others through her tweets, she has noticeably always spared Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of her criticism. She is seen as being sympathetic to BJP’s right-wing Hindu nationalistic ideology, which has only contributed to her polarising image.
With respect and admiration for the Prime Minister, she often lashes out at his opponents which is what happened that led to twitter taking down her account. A day after BJP lost the state assembly elections to Mamta Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the West Bengal Chief Minister is perhaps one of Mr Modi’s current rivals.
Following the announcement of the election results on May 2, political violence erupted across various parts of the state, injuring and killing many. What led to Twitter permanently suspending the actress’s account were a series of tweets of her vitriolically commenting on the West Bengal Chief Minister.
In her tweet, she asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “tame” Mamta Banerjee and her party using the leadership style of the early 2000s. The early 2000s here perhaps refers to the violence in Gujarat that took place in 2002 when Modi was chief minister of the state.
Thousands were killed and lakhs were left homeless, mostly Muslims in the 2002 communal riots under Narendra Modi’s watch.
The tweet, sounding like a call to violence, naturally sparked outrage by many, action was demanded against the actress, and Twitter permanently suspended her account for repeated violations of Twitter rules especially their hateful conduct policy and abusive behaviour policy.
Disassociation of Designers
Following her last tweet, which openly called for violence, fashion designers Anand Bhushan and Rimzim Dadu announced their wish to never work with Kangana Ranaut again. The designers, in doing so, have taken a stance against the actress’s words insinuating violence.
Rimzim Dadu shared a post on her social media stating that it’s never too late to do the right thing and announcing the removal of all posts of past collaboration from her social media and pledging to not engage in any future association with the actress.
Designer Anand Bhushan also urged other designers to think before associating with Kangana. He clarified that he and his brand do not stand with any kind of hate speech. He believes that calling for the 2002 Gujarat riots to happen again was the lowest of the low and that he condemns this viewpoint and doesn’t wish to be associated with it.
Dadu firmly believes that at these difficult times in the middle of a pandemic it is especially important to hold the celebrities and the influence they have accountable irrespective of the side of the political spectrum they choose to stand on. This is crucial to healing the country.
Inevitably, they were trolled following their announcement. Kangana Ranaut’s sister and manager threatened to sue Anand Bhushan through her Instagram stories. But at the same time, they received much support and appreciation for their decision, especially on Twitter.
They hope to have started a ripple effect expecting more and more designers and influential people to express what they do and do not stand for and make their voices heard. Many influential people stand with Bhushan and Dadu and are showing their support by reposting the designers’ posts including designer Gaurav Gupta as well as actress Swara Bhaskar.
This step by the designers hopefully prompts people to stop idolizing celebrities and looking at them through rose-coloured glasses and start seeing them for who they are and what they and their actions stand for.
By making it clear that they refuse to be associated with the kind of belief system that the actress propagates, designers Rimzim Dadu and Anand Bhushan have hopefully inspired others to think twice about who they associate with as anyone could be held accountable for the associations that they foster.
Written by - Rishika Taneja
Edited by - Piyush Pandey
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