Telugu industry celebs reacted strongly to Telangana Minister Konda Surekha’s recent ‘derogatory remarks’ linking Samantha-Naga Chaitanya divorce with politician KTR. After actor Nagarjuna condemned the comments saying “Don't use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize your opponents,” other celebrities like Chiranjeevi, Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Nani stepped forward reacting on the issue.
Even the concerned parties, Naga Chaitanya and Samantha issued individual statements on X. “Today, the claim made by Minister Konda Surekha is not only false, it is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable.” asserted Naga Chaitanya. Samantha Ruth Prabhu wrote, “To be a woman, to come out and work, to survive in a glamorous industry where women are more often than not treated as props, to fall in love & to fall out of love, to still stand up and fight... It takes a lot of courage and strength.”
Addressing the indecent comments, superstar Chiranjeevi wrote, “It is a shame that celebs and members of the film fraternity become soft targets as they provide instant reach and attention. We as the Film Industry stand united in opposing such vicious verbal assaults on our members. No one should stoop to this level for scoring political points by dragging unconnected people and more so women into their political slugfest and making distasteful fictional allegations.”
Even Jr NTR, who was one of the first ones to respond, strongly wrote, “We will not sit quietly while others make baseless allegations against us. We should rise above this and maintain respect for each other’s boundaries. Let’s ensure our society does not normalize such reckless behavior in democratic India.” He even started the hashtag, #FilmIndustrywillnottolerate which celebrities later continued using.
Actor Nani also slammed the minister and said, “Disgusting to see politicians thinking that they can get away talking any kind of nonsense. When your words can be so irresponsible it’s stupid of us to expect that you will have any responsibility for your people. It’s not just about actors or cinema.”
Allu Arjun also followed suit in the reactions and wrote, “This behavior is deeply disrespectful and goes against Telugu culture.”
Konda Surekha issued a clarification tagging Samantha Ruth Prabhu, she said “My comments are meant to question a leader's belittling of women and not to hurt your sentiments. The way you have grown up with self-power is not only an admiration for me but also an ideal. If you or your fans are offended by my comments, I unconditionally retract my comments."
