Actor Sonam Kapoor and multiple other celebrities and social media influencers are being called out for supporting and attending the MDL Beast music festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Diet Prada--an anonymous Instagram account known for naming and shaming fashion designers for plagiarising others’ work--was among the first to bring attention to the celebrities’ ‘hypocrisy’.
Diet Prada shared a post about how influencers are flocking to Saudi Arabia for the festival and to have a good time, completely ignoring the country’s ‘human rights crisis’. It said that they were being paid in millions to attend the festival and post about it on their social media accounts, in a bid to ‘change its image in the west.’
Recently, Sonam, too, has attended the festival and shared pictures from the same. While Diet Prada didn’t name or tag her in the original post, she decided to clear her name from the controversy. “Let’s agree to disagree. Let’s appreciated that the whole world is a shithole right now and any step forward is something I want to celebrate. I was treated with immense respect and love as a Hindu brown female actor,” she wrote in an Instagram story while reposting Diet Prada’s post.
Diet Prada responded by calling her reply, “typically tone deaf response by celebrities to receive preferential treatment.” They even shared a video of a woman who was sexually harassed at the festival. “Sonam Kapoor here is a brown girl at MDL Beast attendance who wasn’t ‘treated with immense respect’ as you were in the VIP section,” the account shared with the video.
{{/usCountry}}Diet Prada responded by calling her reply, “typically tone deaf response by celebrities to receive preferential treatment.” They even shared a video of a woman who was sexually harassed at the festival. “Sonam Kapoor here is a brown girl at MDL Beast attendance who wasn’t ‘treated with immense respect’ as you were in the VIP section,” the account shared with the video.
{{/usCountry}}They even dug out an old tweet of Sonam, calling out the ‘hypocrisy’ of calling herself an ally. “Would be cool if you could explain the hypocrisy of your promoting Saudi Arabia where LGBTQ are subject to capital punishment. Or maybe donate the money you made to various LGBTQ advocacy groups,” they offered.
Diet Prada also shared screenshots of their conversations with actor Emily Ratajkowski. She said that she too was approached for the festival but she rejected the offer. “I was waiting for someone to call it out,” she wrote in her message.
The bevy of Instagram stars, former Victoria’s Secret models, including Alessandra Ambrosio, and Hollywood actors like Ryan Phillipe, Ed Westwick and Wilmer Valderrama were invited to the fest. According to a report in AP, at Riyadh airport, a booth welcomed tourists with pamphlets on etiquette in Saudi Arabia, labelled “Our Code of Conduct”.
Also read: Karan Johar says Sridevi had ‘brilliant’ suggestions for Kalank, regrets not listening to her
“Both men and women are asked to dress modestly in public, avoiding tight fitting clothing,” it explained. “Women should cover their shoulders and knees in public.” Apparently, not all the VIP guests flown to Saudi Arabia on private jets got the memo — some opted for ‘stomach-baring bralettes under open coats’.
Earlier this year, hip-hop star Nicki Minaj pulled out of performing in the kingdom over concerns about women’s rights, gay rights and freedom of expression.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.