Priyanka posted a heartfelt video on social networks addressing last week’s atrocities in New Zealand, which starts with a 2D animation sporting a non-Muslim woman hugging a hijab-wearing one. The episode is followed by an inscription that pops up saying “The world is with you”, along with New Zealand’s national symbol of a kiwi bird and the country’s map below it.
However, the attempt to verbally and visually condemn the shooting appears to have hit a raw nerve with quite a few netizens, with many rushing to accuse Chopra of hypocrisy, citing her “warmongering” tweets from several weeks ago, in which she allegedly rooted for war when the tensions between India and Pakistan had reached their climax. Accusing her of a non-pacifist approach, many at the time called for Priyanka to step down from the role of UNICEF goodwill ambassador that she currently holds.
Pakistani artist Ali Gul Piris is among those who called Priyanka out for her “double standards”, while some pointed to her picking carefully which violence she wants to denounce and which she would give the green light to.
Many went as far as to remark that with Priyanka being tremendously popular in the Western world, her attitude absolutely depends on whether she comments on well-off countries with a strong leadership, or, conversely, developing Asian states and “banana republics”. One even suggested that Priyanka was striving to save face in wake of accusations of warmongering with regard to Pakistan.
Many, however, rose to the actress’ defence, saying that she tweets her condemnation of terror irrespective of the location of where it happened, with some suggesting that haters could “have misunderstood her” at the time of the Kashmir attack in mid-February.
Many blatantly stated that Priyanka’s tweets were not about supporting military confrontation, arguing that those who misunderstood her have “a f***ed up logic”.
There were those who immediately recalled and brought up Priyanka’s grief-filled tweet after the terror act in Pakistan:
Some decided to divert the subject to another issue, calling attention to the fact that few Indians, or Muslims at large, actually commented on the New Zealand rampage whatsoever.
A violent shooting in two mosques rocked Christchurch on Friday, leaving 50 dead and dozens injured. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the shooting a terrorist act, saying that it was the country's "darkest day". The perpetrator, an Australian right-wing extremist, Brenton Tarrant, shortly after confessed to the attack and was charged with murder.