The recent international attention to the farmers' protests in India has been applauded by many. Pop star Rihanna has garnered a lot of love from Indians for speaking up about this issue.
The Grammy Award-winning singer has always channelised her star power to direct attention towards issues plaguing the world. In 2012, Rihanna started an organisation, ‘The Clara Lionel Foundation’, which funds education and healthcare programs around the world. By tweeting to leaders of Britain, France, Australia and Norway, she helped Global Partnership for Education raise $2 billion in 2018.
In response to Rihanna, Greta Thunberg and other celebrities who expressed solidarity with farmers, the Ministry of External Affairs released a statement saying they were spreading ‘propaganda’ against the nation’s unity.
As if on cue, some TV channels went ahead to criticise the celebs in all possible ways. Some referred to Rihanna as ‘the Congress Leader for Farmers’, while others called the tweets a ‘suspicious plot by Rahul Gandhi.’ The channels also judged Rihanna on the basis of her clothes, her videos and photoshoots.
Many even called Greta Thunberg a ‘stupid teenager’ and went to the extent of mocking Mia Khalifa for having an opinion. Either the celebrities were personally attacked or they were said to be a part of a ‘terrorist organisation’.
Twitter hit a new low when the Right-Wing troll army started hailing American songwriter Chris Brown following Rihanna's tweet. In 2009, a 19-year-old Brown was arrested for assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna, who was 20.
American vlogger Amanda Cerny was also being targeted for speaking up. However, she gave it back to the haters like a queen.
Here's how social media users reacted to the news coverage:
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