Mumbai: Punjab Kings co-owner and actress Preity Zinta recently revealed that she and her child were harassed in two separate incidents in Mumbai. The actress, in a social media, also went on to explain how she was 'left shaken by the two events that took place'.
In the post, she talked about how an unknown woman 'planted a big wet kiss' next to her daughter Gia's mouth and how a 'handicapped man kept trying to stop' her for money in Mumbai while the paparazzis found it funny, laughed and did not help.
The actress posted a video of the second incident. "Two events this week have left me a bit shaken. 1 regarding my daughter Gia-where a woman tried to take her photo. When we politely asked her not to, she walked away, then suddenly scooped my daughter in her arms and planted a big wet kiss next to her mouth and ran off saying what a cute baby. This woman lives in an elite building and happened to be in the garden where my kids were playing. If I wasn't a celebrity I probably would have reacted badly but kept my cool as I didn't want to make a scene."
"U can see the 2nd incident here. I had a plane to catch and this handicapped man kept trying to stop me. Over the years he has harassed me for money and I have given it to him when I could. This time when he asked for money I said sorry today I have no cash, just a credit card. The lady with me gave him some money from her purse. He threw it back at her cuz it wasn't enough and started getting aggressive. As u can see, he followed us for some time and got more aggressive."
"The photographers found this incident funny. Instead of helping us they filmed and laughed. NO ONE told him not to follow the car or harass us as anyone could have got hurt. Had there been an accident, I would have been blamed. Me being a celebrity would have been questioned. Bollywood would have been blamed & a lot of negativity would have spread."
"I think it's high time people realise that I'm a human being first, then a mom and then a celebrity. I also don't need to apologise for my success constantly and be bullied for it cuz I've worked very hard to get where I am," she also said.
She added that she has an equal right like anyone else in this country to live the way she wants and urged everyone to think before judging and stop blaming celebrities for everything.
"Most importantly my children are NOT part of a package deal & are not meant to be preyed on so please leave my kids alone and don't come to them for photos or touch/grab them. They are infants and need to be treated like infants, not celebrities (sic)," added Preity.
A slew of personalities, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lilly Singh, Hrithik Roshan and Malaika Arora and many others have come out in support of actress Preity Zinta, who spoke about being harassed in a post on social media.
Commenting on the post, actor Arjun Rampal said: "Next time give me a call will sort them out."
Hrithik Roshan said: "Well done Pree." Malaika Arora wrote: "You said it out loud and clear."
"Good on you for standing up for yourself. I know that can be hard. But it's important and true," wrote Lilly Singh. Priyanka posted shocked emojis.
(with IANS inputs)
