US magazine deletes article calling Priyanka Chopra a 'scam artist'
New York magazine has deleted an article that labelled the actor Priyanka Chopra a “global scam artist” who had conned musician Nick Jonas into marrying her after it was widely panned, especially by Indian readers.
The piece, published on the magazine’s the Cut website, a spinoff aimed at female readers, painted Chopra, 36, as a calculating figure whose relationship with Jonas was influenced more by a desire to further her career than love.
“Nicholas Jonas married into a fraudulent relationship against his will this past Saturday,” the author, Mariah Smith, wrote.
“All Nick wanted was a possible fling with Hollywood’s latest It Woman, but instead he wound up staring straight at a life sentence with a global scam artist,” the piece added.
It likened Chopra’s relationship with Jonas, a former boyband star turned solo musician and actor, to a business decision and a splurge on luxury items.
The piece ended: “Nick, if you’re reading this, find that horse and gallop away as fast as you can!”
Chopra, a former Miss World and the most successful Indian actor to cross over into the American entertainment industry, married Jonas, 26, in a lavish four-day ceremony in Rajasthan state over the weekend.
She told the Hindustan Times on Thursday: “I don’t even want to react or comment [on the article]. It’s not even in my stratosphere. I’m in a happy place at this moment. These kind of random things can’t disturb it.”
Chopra’s acting career started a few years after she rose to prominence as the winner of the 2000 Miss World pageant. By 2015 she had established herself as a major Bollywood star and made the jump to the US, where she headlined the now-cancelled TV drama Quantico.
Jonas was the youngest member of the boyband the Jonas Brothers, who shot to fame in 2007 and became staples of various Disney Channel programmes and films, including Camp Rock and their own series, Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream. He has since become a solo artist, and released his last album in 2016.
The piece immediately drew a backlash from Indian readers including Bollywood actors and high-profile journalists. Jonas’ brother Joe and his fiancee, Sophie Turner, also voiced complaints at the “disgusting” descriptions of their sister-in-law.
Several Twitter users called the piece racist, arguing a white woman’s consumption of luxury goods would attract less scrutiny than that of an Indian woman, as well as sexist, portraying Jonas as wide-eyed and sincere, in contrast to the scheming Chopra.
The piece was first amended to remove some of the more gratuitous descriptions of Chopra, then deleted
altogether.
“Last night, the Cut published a post about Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s relationship that shouldn’t have gone up,” read a note posted in its place.
“We’ve received dozens of messages from readers expressing their anger. We want you to know that we hear you and we’re sorry. The whole piece missed the mark.
“There is no good explanation for this other than human error and poor judgment. This was a mistake, and we apologise to our readers and to Priyanka and Nick.”