Varun Dhawan shuts down troll who accused him of 'showing privilege' amid pandemic: 'Keep your assumptions to yourself'

Varun Dhawan shut down an Instagram user, who accused him of showing his 'privilege' by going on a vacation while people die because of the pandemic.

Actor Varun Dhawan hasn't been having the best experience on social media recently. After being slammed for posting a 'tone-deaf' self-promotional tweet, the actor was criticised on Instagram for flaunting 'privilege' while the country buckles under the pressure of tackling the second wave of the coronavirus.

Varun Dhawan was filming Bhediya in Arunachal Pradesh.

On Wednesday, the actor and his wife, Natasha Dalal, returned to Mumbai from Ziro, where he'd been shooting for his upcoming film, Bhediya. Reacting to a video of them at the airport, in which he asked the paparazzi to follow social distancing, one person commented on an Instagram post, "You went out for vacay and gave paps the chance to snap, now you come back and complain. Stop over showing your privilege when people in your country are dying.”

Varun wrote back, "Well, your assumption is wrong. I was shooting my film and not on holiday. And what do you mean 'Gave them a chance?' How do you not give them a chance? I have people who have also lost their life in covid. So please keep you assumptions to yourself."

A screenshot of Varun Dhawan's response.

Earlier in the week, he also deleted a tweet that featured a 'common DP' in celebration of his birthday on Saturday, after several Twitter users suggested that it might not have been the most sensitive thing to share at this time. "Oh Varun. I thought you're one of the sensible ones," one person wrote, to which Varun replied, "Well it was to make someone happy who made the graphic and requested it but I guess this medium Shouldn’t be used for that right now."

Last year, Varun was among the first Bollywood celebrities to amplify the gravity of the pandemic, when he hosted a live chat with his friend, actor Zoa Morani, who'd been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic.

Several people, such as author Shobhaa De, and actors Shruti Haasan and Amit Sadh have criticised celebrities for going on lavish vacations and posting pictures on social media. Shobhaa's post read, "It is the height of vulgarity to flaunt those ridiculous pictures. Enjoy Maldives by all means. You are blessed if you can get such a break in these bleak times. But do everyone a favour... keep it private."