An insensitive tweet just to publicise a film: Experts decode the trend

Actor Sidharth Malhotra was severely trolled for his ‘ungentlemanly’ behaviour, when he plugged his film in a tweet, in which he also spoke about the violence that broke out in Haryana after the arrest of godman Ram Rahim Insaan (See tweet in inset). However, this is not the first time that a Bollywood celebrity has shown insensitive behaviour. Earlier this year, actor Priyanka Chopra was trolled for posting selfies from the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. Even Salman Khan and Aamir Khan have been slammed in the past for making insensitive remarks.

Explaining why celebs come up with insensitive posts, psychologists say that the rise of social media has made people, especially celebs, narcissistic. “These actors don’t know how to use this medium. Their aim is to use the media for quick publicity and they don’t care if it’s bad or good,” says psychologist Dr Anil Sethi. Adds psychiatrist Dr Manish Jain, “These actors are influencers. They ought to be careful with their words. Sidharth’s tweet indicate a lack of empathy.” However, celebrity publicists say that it is not always the actor who tweets. When it comes to social media promotion of a film, various people are involved. “When an actor signs a project, at times, is obliged to tweet as a part of the contract,” says a publicist not wanting to be named.

However, they can control the damage by taking responsibility. “I think an apology goes a long way. Not all publicity is good publicity,” says another publicist.

These actors don’t know how to use social media. Their aim is to use the media for quick publicity and they don’t care if it’s bad or good DR ANIL SETHI, PSYCHOLOGIST