Body-shaming
“Most people don’t miss a chance to take a dig at someone. Even kids face a lot of bullying if they don’t fit the so called criteria of beauty standards,” adds Meinal.
Actress Elena Fernandes feels that people need to understand and be more sensitive to the reach and effect of their words. “People don’t realise the power of words. Casually saying ‘a girl has put on weight’ or telling someone their ‘skin is bad’ can trigger the journey of an awful complex that can last a lifetime. Think before you speak. Imagine how you would feel if someone criticised your appearance. You wouldn’t like it, so why would you do the same to another person? Words can have a detrimental effect on someone, so choose your words with care. Lift people up instead of breaking them down,” she urges.
Supporting his colleagues, actor Rohan Gandotra also opposes such negative comments and trolls. “I am totally with all my fellow actors and against all those who body-shame people or pass insulting comments on anyone. I just want haters to relax and take their frustrations out somewhere else rather than targeting actors,” he says.
There is an underlying hypocrisy, especially among Indian trolls, feels model and actor Laksh, “Appreciating Hollywood stars but shaming Indians in the name of culture, principles and judging someone on appearance defines the one who’s judging and not the one being judged. One must wear what they want to and pay no heed to the naysayers. The best way to deal with such trolling is to give it zero importance.”
Former cricketer-turned-actor, Karan Wahi feels people need to realise that celebrities are human too and have a right to do what they want. “I think if a person is okay with uploading something on social media then that is all that should matter. We can’t please everyone but I hope one day we will realise that making a joke out of someone isn’t cool,” he opines.
Actress Dalljiet Kaur agrees, “Having said that, everyone has a right to their opinion, one shouldn’t intrude in someone’s life and make it a matter of shame. It’s absolutely fine by me if anyone wants to post anything, as it’s his or her choice. And choices vary depending on what phase of life we are in. People who judge others should realise that they definitely can’t look back at their life as a model of perfection too. We all have been singled out at some point of time. So my advice for everyone out there, known or unknown, is to go ahead and do whatever they have to as long as they are not harming anyone’s sentiments in any way.”
The best way to deal with trolling is to give it zero importance — LAKSH, actor