Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma is the latest celebrity to fall prey to body shaming. The captain has been targeted by Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed, who called Sharma “fat for a sportsperson”. In a now deleted X post, the politician not only bodyshamed Sharma but also questioned his leadership abilities. She wrote, “Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had.”
Reacting to her statement, Pawan Khera, chairman of the Congress party’s media and publicity department, expressed in an X post, “Shama Mohamed… made certain remarks about a cricketing legend that do not reflect the party’s position… The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy.”
Meanwhile, TMC MP Sougata Roy also participated into the controversy by saying that “India wins because the other players play well, but the captain doesn’t contribute much…”
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has condemned the recent remarks made by the Congress spokesperson and senior Trinamool Congress leader about the Indian cricketer, calling it “outright pathetic”. Taking to X, he wrote, “Congress and TMC should leave sportspersons alone as they are fully capable of handling their professional lives. Remarks made by leaders from these parties, indulging in body shaming and questioning an athlete’s place in the team, are not only deeply shameful but also outright pathetic. Such comments undermine the hard work and sacrifices that our sportspersons make to represent the country on the global stage.”
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia has reacted to the controversy slamming Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed for bodyshaming Indian cricket team captain. “It’s very unfortunate this kind of remarks come from such a person who is on a responsible post to our captain, on a meanwhile time when India is playing an ICC tournament and the team is all set to play Semi final,” said Saikia told news agnecy ANI.
While the Indian cricket team skipper faces this nasty attack, here is taking a look into few other Indian celebrities who fell prey to body shaming and fat shaming in the past.
Sonakshi Sinha
Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha, who has always been an advocate of body positivity, recently opened up on being a victim of body shaming. The actress has been fat shamed since her school days and hit the gym for the first time at the age of 18. In a recent interview, the actress said that during the early days of her career, she was once denied the lead role in a film for being overweight; instead, the actress was offered a small insignificant role in the same film. Recalling the incident, Sonakshi has said that the harsh comments about her body had left her in tears. The Heeramandi actress has also revealed that she avoids swimming in Mumbai or India because of her body image concerns. This was because she is anxious about being secretly clicked and her swimming photos being splashed all over the internet. However, the actress says she enjoys swimming once she is travelling.
Vidya Balan
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has time and again opened up on body positivity and on how she has been a victim of body shaming. Vidya has revealed that she has been replaced several times in films because she was considered overweight for a heroine’s role. “Before every film, I would get asked by the producers and directors if I could shed some weight,” the actress once expressed at an event.
However, Vidya Balan shed a few kilos ahead of the release of her latest film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which released in November last year, where she played the protagonist Manjulika. The actress revealed in an interview that she lost weight by controlling her diet and working out daily. Vidya Balan shared that she had removed foods that increase inflammation in her from her diet and included anti-inflammatory foods.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
One of Bollywood’s all time most beautiful actresses Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has also not been spared from body shaming by online trolls. The actress embraced motherhood in 2011 and it was during this period when she was targeted by trolls. Aishwarya fell prey to body shaming after giving birth to her daughter Aaradhya. But she handled the criticism with a positive attitude and gave a fitting reply to the trolls when more than motherhood, her post-delivery weight became the topic of discussion. She was all over the headlines and was badly trolled for the same.
“It’s not something that I really need to even be discussing giving so much attention to. It’s normal. It was natural in my case. That was the natural turn that my body took in terms of whether I gained weight or I had water retention or whatever else that goes with the space. I was comfortable. I stepped out in public when I could take time out from my baby. And if I did think it a big deal, I would have been in hiding or would have done something about it. So if want to lose it overnight, it is possible. But that’s not the choice that I was making and I pretty much made that evident. And I wasn’t disturbed by it. If people were, well I guess, I hope they enjoyed the drama because I was busy leading a very real life. With my baby,” the actress said as reply to trolls in a throwback interview.
Arjun Kapoor
Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor has also been a victim of fat shaming. The actor used to weigh 140 kgs before venturing into Bollywood and had shed 50 kilos before his debut film “Ishaqzaade”. Arjun has been vocal about gaining weight, his struggles to get in shape and the perception of fitness. Talking about his body transformation in at an event a few years ago, the actor had said that fitness is equated with being thin in our country. “Fitness is equated to being thin. During Ishaqzaade, I was 95 kgs, which is a lot of weight to carry. But, it was fine as I had abs. India has issues with colour, size and structure. I am a big (structure) guy. I embrace it positively.” Talking about being a target of body shaming, Arjun had expressed, “You can’t put other people down. You might be slightly overweight, doesn’t mean you go into a dark hole.”
