Amidst all the racial tension and protests since the infamous George Floyd incident, celebrities and public figures are openly condoning racism and showing their support for the black community (emphasis on ‘Black’). While some public figures have criticized the racial bigotry and offered some sensible critique of the situation, other mainstream media celebrities are merely trying to win over people to remain ‘relatable’ with the public. Some notable examples include Shamoon Ismail and now its Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas.
Pri & I have heavy hearts … The reality of the inequalities in this country, and around the world, are glaring. Systemic racism, bigotry and exclusion has gone on for far too long, and remaining silent not only reinforces it, but it allows it to continue.
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) June 3, 2020
Recently, Nick Jonas and Priyanka tweeted in support of the#BlackLivesMatter movement. Here’s what they said:
“Pri & I have heavy hearts… The reality of the inequalities in this country, and around the world, are glaring. Systemic racism, bigotry and exclusion has gone on for far too long, and remaining silent not only reinforces it, but it allows it to continue,” he wrote.
The time to take action is NOW. It’s no longer enough to say “I’m not racist”. We must all do the work to be ANTI racist and stand with the black community.
In our first step towards our continued efforts to help fight this fight, Pri and I have donated to the @eji_org & @ACLU.
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) June 3, 2020
In another tweet he wrote:
“The time to take action is NOW. It’s no longer enough to say ‘I’m not racist’. We must all do the work to be ANTI racist and stand with the black community. In our first step towards our continued efforts to help fight this fight, Pri and I have donated to the @eji_org & @ACLU… We stand with you and we love you. #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd.”
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Feeling good about his ‘support’ towards the cause, Nick and ‘Pri’ didn’t anticipate what happened next. Soon after the tweets, social media tore into the couple with a horde of criticism. People called out their ‘fakeness’ and hypocrisy, particularly Priyanka Chopra (who as everyone knows is the poster girl for skin-lightening creams).
Check out some of the responses on Twitter.
'pri' supports a fascist government and sells fairness creams while she cries about injustice in the US ❤️
— 🌈 (@sadpenguini) June 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/maXes_MB/status/1268311171691503617?s=20
https://twitter.com/maXes_MB/status/1268308378058661888?s=20
That’s the bitter irony of celebrities like these two, who are mainly coming out in support of the racial discrimination against African-Americans; not acknowledging their own discrimination against dark-skinned people from their own region. Promoting fairness creams because people with a slightly browner skin are not promoted but ridiculed in Bollywood and ‘Desi’ mainstream media.
https://twitter.com/rah_sim/status/1268296512808812555?s=20
That’s not all! Many others called the couple’s hypocrisy for being in support of a Prime Minister who proudly promotes the massacre and murder of Muslim minorities in India.
Was pri’s “heart heavy” before or after she promoted skin lightening creams? Was it “heavy” when she watched Muslims get lynched in her own country & said nothing? What about the time when you invited a fascist to your wedding? It seems like her heart is doing just fine.
— Amsi (@thisisamsi) June 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1268585106182156292?s=20
As famous comedian Hasan Minhaj stated in his recent video regarding racism, people need to be held accountable for their own racist bigotry and hypocrisy, especially these ‘Desi’ subcontinent celebrities who still look down on their own people due to the darker complexion.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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