'Well done': Hrithik, Priyanka, other Bollywood celebs react to Preity Zinta's statement over 2 harassment cases

Indian actress Preity Zinta, who shared her ordeal of public harassment, has been lauded by Bollywood celebrities for speaking out. The actress opened up about the incidents on Instagram which involved her and daughter Gia.

The actress also slammed those who invaded her and her family’s personal space and the paparazzi who “filmed and laughed” when she was being harassed, instead of helping her.

Preity’s friend and co-star in Dil Hai Tumhaara, Arjun Rampal was among the first to extend support. “Next time, give me a call, will sort them out,” he wrote. Her co-star in many films, Hrithik Roshan, wrote: “Well done, Pree.” The duo have shared screen space in many movies, including Lakshya, Koi…Mil Gaya, Mission Kashmir and Krrish. Priyanka Chopra added her support, too, with a series of emojis.

Malaika Arora also reacted to the post and said, “You said it out loud and clear (high-five icon).” Social media influencer Lilly Singh’s message to the actress read, “Good on you for standing up for yourself (red heart icon) I know that can be hard. But it’s important and true.” A comment by singer Aishwarya Bhandari Puranik read, “This is really disappointing and disrespectful!”

In the first of the two incidents, a woman forcibly “scooped” Preity’s baby daughter in her “arms and planted a big wet kiss next to Gia’s mouth and ran off.” Sharing where and when it all happened, the actress wrote, “This woman lives in an elite building and happened to be in the garden where my kids were playing. If I wasn’t a celebrity, I probably would have reacted badly but kept my cool as I didn’t want to make a scene.”

The 48-year-old actress, while revealing details of the second incident, also posted a clip in which a man on a wheelchair is seen following her and harassing her “for money.” She wrote: “Over the years, he has harassed me for money and I have given it to him when I could. This time, when he asked for money, I said sorry today I have no cash, just a credit card. The lady with me gave him some money from her purse. He threw it back at her cause it wasn’t enough and started getting aggressive. As you can see (in the clip), he followed us for some time and got more aggressive.”

The Veer-Zaara actress added that while all this was happening in the public space, photographers were just laughing and filming the whole incident, instead of stopping the man or helping her.

“I think it’s high time people realise that I’m a human being first, then a mom and then a celebrity. I also don’t need to apologise for my success constantly and be bullied for it cause I’ve worked very hard to get where I am,” read an excerpt from the actress’ statement.

Read Preity’s full post here:

Not just industry colleagues, a lot of fans also condemned the behaviour, calling it “obnoxious” and “unacceptable” in the comments section.

Preity, who is married to Gene Goodenough, lives in Los Angeles with her twins Gia and Jai. She is in India, right now, to cheer for her team Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.

ALSO READ:

• 'Leave my kids alone': Bollywood actor Preity Zinta sends message to public after two disturbing incidents in a week

• Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta, Radhika Apte: 6 Bollywood actors who tied the knot with non-Indians

• Preity Zinta celebrates twins' first birthday, pens adorable note

• Entertainment
• India