Cyberbullying has taken the form of a competitive sport: Mou Das

Jyothi venkatesh

Of late a lot of celebrities have become a victim of cyberbullying. Sushant Singh Rajput’s death sparked the nepotism debate again and many believed it was one of the reasons he committed suicide. From Alia Bhatt to Sonam Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Karan Johar, to name a few, suffered the wrath of netizens. Producer Mou Das calls cyberbullying “an insidious form of virtue signaling” and said that it has taken the form of a competitive sport

“Cyberbullying is an arrow in the quiver of Cancel Culture. It is weaponized under the garb of ' liberal' ethics. It has taken the form of a competitive sport in which the public court of opinion is swayed to dehumanize their opponents to prove their own 'weakness',” she said.

“With the untimely, sad demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, suddenly the gossiping people, who are mostly unaware of the facts, rose up to display their love for him. They spoke about the importance of mental health. So far, so good. But then, they turned to become omniscient and went on with the blame game, indulged in mudslinging, oblivious of reality.  I am sure that most of the trollers don’t even bother to look up for real facts. They didn’t even follow his daily life or activities while he was alive, but they joined the bandwagon to malign the artists and celebrities,” she added.

Mou says she knew Sushant only through virtual media and added, “Though I am moved by the piece of news, I myself don’t know whom to blame. It is extremely unfortunate. But the aftermath is even more disheartening.”

She questions how can someone be alleged guilty unless proved? “Even a criminal has the right to a trial.  So, the mass that is unanimously blaming and bullying those particular artists and actors must have faith in the judiciary of India. They must restrain from posting such hate comments and turn those artists outcast,” she said.

Mou cited the example of popular YouTuber Jenna Marbles, who recently became a victim of this toxic cancel culture, and said, “A few videos which she made in 2011 and 12 were dug up for being racially insensitive and she was bullied till she decided to quit the platform in June, this year.”

“This bullying is not uncommon. The freedom of speech that we enjoy is never used judiciously, we don’t realize how our comments affect the lives of others. One must be reticent and supplement allegations with subsequent evidence before making them public,” she added.

Sushant’s close friend and “Raabta” co-star, Kriti Sanon, too was trolled post his demise. The actress was criticized for not immediately posting any condolence message or giving any statement post the actor’s death. Sharing her post Mou said, “Kriti Sanon, a close friend of Sushant Singh Rajput herself posted on Instagram that ‘social media is the fakest, most toxic place in the world. It’s sad that if you have not made a public display of your grief and not posted RIP you are considered to be not grieving.’ She lashed sarcasm and called social media to be the new reality, and the real world fake.”

The producer feels the media is also responsible for this and said, “These effects try to draw the attention of the news and media; they are successful, so they play on.”

“Definitely the media is greatly responsible for this. It can be stopped only when we can bring in accountability for what we speak. Moreover, people need to realize by themselves that they are not the know all, and they are living with only their versions of the truth. They must have faith in the judiciary of the nation,” she concluded.