Kriti Sanon recalls ‘choli’ controversy: ‘People talking about culture were abusing my family’

Kriti Sanon has finally opened up about the online trolling she faced over her Raksha Bandhan commercial a few months ago. She recalled how her ‘choli’ became a “national debate” and how trolls started attacking her family members. In a conversation with Kareena Kapoor on her show What Women Want, Kriti shared that she usually ignores the trolls but decided to speak up this time around as she felt that this entire conversation was unwarranted. She also highlighted how women are constantly scrutinised for their clothes, weight and personal choices, with even their families becoming targets of online abuse.

Talking to Kareena Kapoor about how she deals with online trolling, Kriti said she usually chooses not to react or pay heed to the trolls. However, the backlash over her Raksha Bandhan commercial made her feel that the issue needed to be addressed. “I don’t pay attention to any of the trolls. I don’t pay heed to them. I feel like I don’t need to justify anything because I don’t want to give them that attention. I let it pass. I don’t say anything, normally; I don’t react. But, which is something that happened recently, my choli became a national debate (My God). I couldn’t believe that half of the time my choli had become a six-person panel discussion on prime-time news. I was like, ‘What is going on?’ And, normally, I don’t say anything, but the trolling had happened much before that, and that’s where I felt that I needed to be a baddie.”

Kareena praised Kriti Sanon for speaking up, telling her, “Which you did, and it was absolutely amazing.” Thanking Kareena, the Tere Ishk Mein actor explained that the controversy was about a much larger issue than her outfit. “Thank you, but I felt like it was not about me, it was a much larger issue, where I feel that women are constantly under scrutiny for everything, and it’s only women who get targetted in the smallest things.”

Kareena agreed with Kriti and said, “Yes, and it’s your choice, what you want to wear, and how, like what the hell.”

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‘What’s with the hate?’

Kriti Sanon went on to discuss how women are judged for everything, from their clothes and physical appearance to their weight and whether they are pregnant. “And, what you want to wear… She’s too short, too tall, she’s put on weight, she’s looking too thin, or is she pregnant?” She even talked about Kareena being judged for putting on weight, and said, “How many times have you had to justify that you had pizza and pasta and wine?”

Kareena responded, “Yeah, and I’m like ‘what the hell’.” Kriti added that while people were entitled to have opinions about what someone wore, the criticism often goes beyond that. “Just, ‘I like this outfit,’ ‘I don’t like this outfit’ is fine, it is your opinion.” Kareena shared her thoughts and said, “Now it’s gone to the next level.” The actors also discussed the amount of hate women face online. Kriti asked Kareena, “Bebo, the amount of hate that happens! What’s with the hate?” “Yeah, that was very unnecessary,” responded Kareena.

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Kriti says trolls abused her family

Kriti said that she usually does not read comments under her posts but was disturbed by the nature of the abuse directed at her family. The 36-year-old said, “And, I don’t understand because I feel like…I don’t read comments under the posts, I am not of that habit but I feel, sometimes people just get so nasty and people who are talking about culture, respect, were ironically the ones who were commenting on my parents and sister’s post in the nastiest abusive language.”

Kriti then pointed out that her family members were also affected by the controversy, asking, “But you know, they read all this. What have they done?” Kareena responded, “Yeah, they must have been disturbed about this.”

Kriti also revealed that her sister had asked her to turn off the comments because the abuse was affecting her. The Mimi actor used the incident as a case study to explain why women need to speak up when they are subjected to online harassment.

She said, “It’s important for women to stand up for themselves because everything is such a question, and who has given this right to these people to be commenting on us for what?” Kareena agreed with her, saying, “Absolutely.”

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Kriti went on to explain that women want to be able to make their own choices without constantly facing judgement, and how actors are easy targets for online trolls. “What women actually want is to not be judged, and for people to actually mind their own business. It’s happened to multiple people, and actors are the easiest targets. It’s not just me, and recently, it’s happened with multiple people, and it’s so sad,” opined the Heropanti actor.

Concluding the conversation, Kriti reminded people that actors are human beings too and that online hate affects them just as it affects anyone else. She said, “We are also humans and it affects us and it’s not fair to any woman.”

About Kriti Sanon controversy

The controversy began after Kriti Sanon appeared in an ad for a jewellery brand shortly before Raksha Bandhan. Trolls started commenting on her outfit and soon after actor Kangana Ranaut, without mentioning her name, called the ad, “intentionally creepy.” As the criticism, Kriti shared a statement, “The essence of festivals is not in the clothes you wear, it is in the emotions and meaning you hold for the traditions. Rakshabandhan is a bond of protection. My sister and I tie rakhi to each other. We know we can protect each other no less than a brother would have.” Defending her right to wear what she wanted, Kriti said, “Also, when will we stop telling women what to wear?? Ethnic fashion has evolved over the years, but still a woman’s respect for her culture is measured with just her clothes!! Culture & Traditions are in her heart, not in her neckline!”

Days later, the brand took down the advertisement. “If our recent advertisement has inadvertently hurt the sentiments of some segments of society, that was not our intent at all. Out of respect, we have withdrawn the said advertisement from all media. Wish you all the love & positivity this festive season,” they wrote.