Gouri Kishan On Body Shaming Incident: Comments Or Questions That Target A Person's Body Or Appearance Are Inappropriate

Recently, during a press meet of a promotional event in Chennai for her film Others, actress Gouri G. Kishan called out an YouTube vlogger for asking misogynist questions about her body weight. The Chennai Press Club condemned the behaviour of the man for asking a body-shaming question to the actress. Several celebs like Richa Chadha, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Chinmayi Sripaada, Samyuktha Viswanathan, Khushbu Sundar, Radikaa Sarathkumar, and PA Ranjith, among others condemned the act and supported Gouri.

Gouri, renowned for her work in Tamil and Malayalam cinema, on Saturday issued a statement where she opened up on the entire incident. Here's what she said.

Gouri Kishan on body shaming incident

She believes that it is important to acknowledge the broader issue behind it so that "we can collectively reflect on the kind of relationship we want to encourage between artists and the media."

Gouri said that comments or questions that is targeted towards a person's body or appearance are "inappropriate." She wished questions were asked about her film and wondered if they would have ask the same question to a male actor in the same "aggressive tone."

"This not new but still prevalent—normalising body shaming in jest, while perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards. I hope this will be a reminder to everyone who has felt this way that we are allowed to speak up. We are allowed to express our discomfort, question when wronged, and work towards stopping this cycle," she wrote.

The actress also clarified that this is "not an invitation to target or harass" the person involved. She urged to use the moment to "move forward with greater empathy, sensitivity and respect on all sides."

Have a look at her post here.

About Gouri Kishan's body shaming incident

At the press meet of Others on November 6, the vlogger asked the director, Abin Hariharan, the “odd” pairing of lead actors. When he was called out, by Gouri, he tried to shut her down, insisting he didn't ask anything wrong.

Gouri recalled that he was the same reporter who had earlier asked her a similar sexist question. “Aren’t you the same person who asked me about my weight? What is your weight?” she asked.

Karthik, who runs a YouTube channel, in an aggressive tone replied, “What was wrong with my question? These are questions that are regularly asked.” He even complained to the director saying, “When I ask her weight, she asks my weight. Am I an actor?” 

Further demeaning Gouri, he claimed, “She doesn’t understand Tamil. My question is so interesting.”

Several men at the event came in defense of Karthik’s and were against Gouri. Even Hariharan did nothing to support Gouri.

Taking a stand for herself, she said, “Firstly, what you asked is body-shaming. There is no woman here. I am being targeted just because I am a woman. Every woman has a different body type. Do you know what problems I have? Do you know if I have hormonal issues? If I am the heroine, do I have to be size zero? What are you going to do knowing my weight? It’s irrelevant to the film.” 

Karthik insulted her further, asking, “Let’s see you say both your height and weight are well-matched?” To which gave a beftting reply, “Casting is the director’s choice. Who are you to question that?”

When another men tried to divert the topic by saying, “Okay, okay. Let’s talk about the movie," Gouri replied, “What is okay? He [Karthik] is shouting at me and keeps interrupting. I have a perspective too. With all due respect to the press here, I am not generalising. But why is body-shaming normalised? Why are women actors always asked this question? Will you ask a hero the same question?”

She further said, “Were there any questions about the characters I’ve played? There were zero questions about the doctor character I play in Others. He [Karthik] only wants to know my weight. How is that correct? You indirectly asked the hero my weight. It is wrong and a stupid question. You are sexualising a female character. This is not journalism. What you are doing is a disgrace to your profession.”

Condemning such act of that individual, the Chennai Press Club issued a statement, that reads: "Raising questions aimed at mocking or humiliating a woman artist over her physical appearance, especially in a professional forum meant to discuss a film, is highly unethical, indecent, and condemnable. The Chennai Press Club strongly denounces such behaviour and urges fellow journalists to call out and question individuals who conduct themselves in a sexist or disrespectful manner."

Later, Others actor Aditya Madhavan issued an apology, saying, "My silence didn’t mean I approve body shaming of anyone. I froze because it caught me off guard as it is my debut… She didn’t deserve that. No one does. Everyone deserves respect, regardless of who we are."