Priyanka Chopra’s George Floyd remark earns flak

Want to appear woke and relevant? Just express disgust at the latest humanitarian crisis rocking the globe and sign a petition calling for justice.

But make sure you don’t choose an issue to be enraged about that’s too close to home, such as the migrant labour crisis in India, because your armchair activism could blow up in your face.

In other words, take a leaf out of Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ convenient code of social media conduct where outrage is selective and activism is limited to foreign soil.

Chopra Jonas, one of India’s most recognised cultural export to the West, seems to have mastered the art of being indignant about all issues non-Indian. Her choice of topics to be enraged about seems highly orchestrated. The brief seems to be simple: Express outrage about what’s happening around the globe, but maintain a deafening silence if it’s happening in India.

A few days ago, Chopra championed for George Floyd, the African-American civilian who was choked to death by a Police officer, sparking protests across the US.

“Wherever you live, whatever your circumstances, NO ONE deserves to die, especially at the hands of another because of their skin colour,” posted

Chopra Jonas on Instagram, along with the hashtag #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd. But many have questioned, where was this anger and empathy when Police were brutally beating up JNU students in Delhi or when minorities in India died due to communal violence?

Her ‘performative woke-ness’ and her apparent apathy towards issues troubling her native country haven’t gone unnoticed as a large section of social media users called her out for her double standards and hypocrisy.

Being a rebel with a worthy cause appropriated from the West won’t cut it anymore, they seem to say.

Gulf News