In a recent incident of sexism in the biz, Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi posted a meme targeting Ashwariya Rai’s relationship history.
Vivek Oberoi is known to have dated Aishwarya Rai after her break-up with Salman Khan. Although the former Miss World did not confirm the relationship, the animosity between Oberoi and Khan made it clear.
What Happened?
Recently, Vivek posted a collection of three pictures on Twitter. The top one included Aishwarya-Salman Khan and was labeled ‘opinion poll’. The second photo was of him and Aishwarya called ‘exit poll’. The bottom picture was with Abhishek Bachchan and her daughter with the caption ‘result.’
He captioned said meme as:
“Haha! creative! No politics here….just life,”
The Consequences
No one really appreciated this tasteless meme. Even fellow Bollywood celebrities really went to town on Oberoi for being classless.
Disgusting and classless. https://t.co/GUB7K6dAY8
— Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) May 20, 2019
Distasteful. Move on Mr. Oberoi https://t.co/BbLskLUoLh
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) May 20, 2019
this is sick
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) May 20, 2019
Absolutely distasteful!!
— Gutta Jwala 💙 (@Guttajwala) May 20, 2019
Very disgraceful and in extreme bad taste of #VivekOberoi to put up such a disrespectful post. At least show the decency to pull off the post if not apologise to the lady and her little girl.
— Urmila Matondkar (@UrmilaMatondkar) May 20, 2019
Netizens Pitched In
Twitterati really made some points at the PM Narendra Modi actor’s choices.
This is the difference between classy and creepy #SalmanKhan #VivekOberoi pic.twitter.com/Yzm4kaXiT6
— WhatSoSocial (घर में रहें, सुरक्षित रहें) (@what_social) May 20, 2019
What VivekOberoi has actually done with his latest tweet#VivekOberoi pic.twitter.com/PAeBD3e7y6
— Patrick B. (@thepat_star) May 20, 2019
Cheap joke. In very bad taste Vivek, especially dragging polls in to this
— maithun (@Being_Humor) May 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/sushantksay/status/1130388770124062722
https://twitter.com/SarcasticRofl/status/1130463384552345602
https://twitter.com/iamsr7_/status/1130430493332131845
Oberoi Hit with Legal Notice
With all the attention that the tweet received, it also grabbed a legal notice. Chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW) Rekha Sherma took notice and tweeted that NCW would send Oberoi a notice soon.
In a television interview NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said that;
“We (NCW) would like him (Vivek Oberoi) to apologise on social media & personally also to the person concerned. If he doesn t do, we will see what legal action can we take against him. We will be talking to Twitter to remove that tweet immediately,”
The Apology
Vivek Oberoi then deleted his tweet and apologized to the people who were irked by the meme. The apology wasn’t so tasteful either.
This is shameful bravado.
Two wrongs do not make a right @vivekoberoi
What you must know is that there are four other persons in that photo whose privacy you have intruded upon and insulted. Hope you understand the meaning of morality and decency.#VivekOberoi pic.twitter.com/DjLkgBmlzM— Clyde Crasto (@Clyde_Crasto) May 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/one_by_two/status/1130685619779309568
This was then followed by a Twitter apology. A properly phrased one at that.
Even if one woman is offended by my reply to the meme, it calls for remedial action. Apologies🙏🏻 tweet deleted.
— Vivek Anand Oberoi (@vivekoberoi) May 21, 2019
Has Vivek Oberoi learnt his lesson by now or not? You decide.
یہ تو چاچورا پن ھوا نا۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔ کوئی بھی سمجھدار اور دانا ایسی حرکت نہیں کرتا۔۔