Trolling Celebs On Social Media: Should Fame Cost Mental Wellness?

Actors are trained to accept good and bad criticism because they are public figures and it is not possible to take every opinion personally. But, there is a line between constructive criticism and trolling. The latter is often rooted in a generalised opinion about stars, their privilege, and then of course attention-seeking jealousy, and personal amusement. But where is the accountability for what such viciousness does to celebrities?

The times that we live in are defined by celebrity abuse, directed to them via social media. There is just no escape from trolling and the worst part is that people today need no reason to peddle hate, especially at celebs. They will dig up old interviews, target a person's body type, or share old photographs to trend and demand boycotts.

Social media users need to take a step back and think for a minute. Isn't it unfair if a person has to pay the price of their fame with their mental well-being?

Star-kid turned actor Ananya Panday has faced trolling a little more than her contemporaries, ever since she stepped into the limelight. Especially after one of the interviews,  where she tried to justify herself as not being privileged enough to be tagged for ">nepotism. Speaking about how online abuse impacted her mental wellbeing, Panday recently said in an interview, "I don’t think the feeling of being trolled constantly will ever get resolved inside me. There are days when something really affects me." She further added, "I feel really bad when I read negative stuff about me. But there are moments when I get over it and feel strong. I feel I can deal with it. I think I am just trying to focus more on improving myself as an actor and giving people a chance to doubt me."

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Trolling celebs on social media: That's not criticism

If public figures speak something out of turn and problematic, it is justified to point it out and make sure the criticism reaches them so that they can analyse their behaviour. But to make fun of someone's accent and be critical of everything they do is cruel and not justified. Panday has been on the receiving end of enough trolling on a daily basis which no one should face unless they have done something extremely wrong.

And not just ">Ananya Panday, numerous celebrities are targetted on a day-to-day basis for trivial reasons. For instance, Alia Bhatt was trolled this week as she asked people to not watch her films if they didn't like her. This statement was deemed star-arrogance by many, leading to a call to boycott Bhatt's upcoming film with her husband Ranbir Kapoor, Brahmastra. The same thing happened with Kareena Kapoor Khan a few weeks ago, when a comment on similar lines from an old interview of hers resurfaced.

Comparing between male and female public figures, it is women who get trolled more viciously, shamed for their body type, dating life, opinion and even skills as an actor. Factors like body image issues affect women actors a lot since they are scrutinised for every inch they gain or lose. When did this women sign up to be objectified on and off the silver screen? Why is scrutinising an actor's body and critiquing their work boxed into the same category of behaviour? These two things are not the same.

While celebrities like Deepika Padukone and Panday have opened about mental health struggles, many others choose to stay mum to maintain a certain aura that we associate with stardom. But we need more celebs to speak out against online abuse, because people need to be reminded when they cross a line. There needs to be accountability for any kind of misconduct, even in the digital space, so that we do not erase empathy from our conscience.

Views expressed are the author's own.