Lekha Washington reacts to people calling her relationship with Imran Khan love jihad: ‘Videos of me being used to…’

Lekha Washington, who is dating actor Imran Khan, said what troubles her more than online trolling is the tendency to define her through her relationship.

Recently, Lekha Washington was subjected to trolling on social media after she attended the premiere of Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos with boyfriend Imran Khan, with several social media users questioning their interfaith relationship. She has now reacted to the backlash, and videos of circulated to fuel hate.

Imran Khan and Lekha Washington were apparently part of the same social circle and started dating in 2020.

Lekha on interfaith relationship with Imran Khan

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Lekha spoke about getting trolled for dating actor Imran Khan, and their interfaith relationship being termed ‘love jihad’.

Recently, Lekha attended the premiere of Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos with Imran, following which she faced a lot of trolling. She eventually took to Instagram to post a video to address the backlash, saying, “Love Jihad – apparently it is being done to me, a part Burmese, Italian , Punjabi , raised in south India, moved to north India with a dad who's Roman Catholic but agnostic persona (is being love-jihaded by) a guy who's father is part Hindu part Scottish and a mom who is Muslim. So I am like, ‘Do Na Love Jihad,’ and I say, ‘No, no. Instead, I make lights’."

Talking about her video and trolls in the interview, Lekha said, “Videos of me being used to fuel hate and division are the exact opposite of what I stand for. It’s important to deal with this with humor, in my opinion, quite literally, make light of the ridiculousness of it all.”

She was also asked about the comments surrounding their interfaith relationship. To which, she said, “My own family is open, multi-hyphenate and respectful of all, as is my partner’s family. I get to witness how a multicultural, expansive, kind, creative and inclusive people beautifully support each other. How lucky am I? I am deeply humbled by the awesomeness of the folks around me.”

She further noted that what troubles her more than online trolling is the tendency to define her chiefly through her relationship with a famous actor, overshadowing her own long and independent career.

What we know about Imran Khan and Lekha Washington

Imran and Lekha were apparently part of the same social circle and started dating in 2020. Reportedly, Imran and Lekha rented a house together in Mumbai. As per Money Control, Imran and Lekha have leased the sea-facing apartment in the Bandra area of the city from director Karan Johar. The rent of the apartment is ₹9 lakh per month. Imran previously stayed in his bungalow at Bandra's Pali Hill.

In an interview with NDTV, Imran spoke about Lekha, saying, “To be loved by someone truly gives you strength and heals you. To give love truthfully and selflessly to another also is empowering and healing. And I have found this, in between my daughter and my partner Lekha, to give and to receive love. It has been absolutely crucial to my healing and to my own growth and well-being."

Lekha was in a relationship with journalist Pablo Mukherjee, who was an old friend of the actor. Imran was previously married to Avantika Malik and parted ways in 2019 ending their eight-year old marriage. Rumours of their separation began in 2019, but neither Imran nor Avantika commented about it. In 2023, it was reported that Imran and Avantika had decided to go their separate ways. The couple share a daughter named Imara.