Several Tollywood celebs, including Allu Arjun, Nani, Jr NTR, Khushbu Sundar and others, have rallied in support of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, hours after Telangana minister Konda Surekha's distasteful remark on their divorce.
Surekha linked Samantha and Chaitanya's divorce to Bharat Rashtra Samiti Chief KT Rama Rao, and claimed that the latter would tap phones of actresses when he was a minister and blackmail them, and Samantha fell prey to it, which led to the divorce.
Tollywood celebs condemn Konda Surekha's comment
Criticising the minister's comment, Tollywood star Allu Arjun took to his X handle on Thursday morning and wrote, "I strongly condemn the baseless derogatory comments made about film personalities and film families. This behaviour is deeply disrespectful and goes against the values of our Telugu culture. Such irresponsible actions should not be accepted as normal. I urge the parties involved to act more responsibly and respect individual privacy, especially towards women. We must promote respect and dignity in social as a whole."
Jr NTR called Surekha out for hitting a new low with her remark. "Public figures, especially those in responsible positions like you, must maintain dignity and respect for privacy. It’s disheartening to see baseless statements thrown around carelessly, especially about the film industry. 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," he stated.
Nani also called the entire controversy "disgusting" and wrote on X, "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. This is not abt any political party. It is not okay for someone in such a respectable position to talk such utter baseless rubbish infront of media and think that it is okay (sic)."
"I thought it was only those who need 2 minute fame and indulge in yellow journalism speak this language. But here, I see an absolute disgrace to womanhood. Konda Surekha garu, I am sure some values were instilled in you. Where have they flown out of the window? A person in a responsible position cannot make such baseless, appalling and degrading statements about my industry, my place of worship," Khushbu Sundar wrote.
Samantha & Chaitanya react
Samantha herself slammed the minister and requested her to keep her out of the political battles, while Chaitanya called the comment "shameful".
Nagarjuna too wrote, "I strongly condemn the comments of the Minister, Konda Surekha. Don't use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize your opponents. Please respect other people's privacy. As a woman in a responsible position, your comments and accusations against our family are completely irrelevant and false. I request you to withdraw your comments immediately."
Meanwhile, Surekha later took to her social media and apologised to Samantha for her remark, stating that she did not intend to hurt her or malign her image.
