Editor: Ashish Maccune
Script and producer: Divya Talwar
Time and again, Kangana Ranaut has made bold claims in her tweets that are almost always wrong and at times, even ignorant. Previously, she is known to have made misinformed claims about mental health, and her recent Twitter jab at a young illustrator has made people question her knowledge on the subject once again.
Over the years, Kangana has received reactions from both sides; right from people praising her bravado to those calling her out for her self-serving activism. Here are 8 public statements made by the star on mental health that confirm how problematic and misleading her views are, and how she should refrain from discussing mental health issues as a whole.
1. When She Made a Mockery Out of an Artist’s Self-Harm Struggles
In a recent incident involving artist Priyanka Paul tweeting about self-harm, Kangana made some crude and personal comments about her appearance. The actor used words like ‘creepy-looking’ and ‘suicidal’ while referring to Paul. A lot of users quickly came to Paul’s defence by calling out Kangana's mean replies and criticising her for her tone-deaf comments.
2. When She Outright Claimed That Mental Health Problems Did Not Exist…
...And Later Claimed to be an Expert on The Issue
3. When She Talked About How Successful and Strong People Could Not Be Depressed
“(Yeh kehte hain ki) Jinka dimaag kamzor hota hai woh depression mein aate hai aur suicide wagerah commit karte hai. Jo bande ne Stanford ki scholarship.. Woh (SSR) rankholder hai.. In his entrance of engineering. Uska dimaag kaise kamzor ho sakta hai?”Kangana Ranaut on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death
"They claim that weak-minded undergo depression and commit suicide. But Sushant Singh Rajput was a rank holder in his engineering entrance exam. How can he be depressed/weak-minded?"
Soon after his death, Kangana talked about Sushant Singh Rajput in an IGTV video, in which she claimed that he had no reason to take his own life. She received flak for claiming that someone cannot be mentally ill just because they have a good life and a strong mind.
4. When She Said Depression Is Understandable in ‘Broken Families’
Amir Khan’s daughter, Ira Khan first spoke about her own struggle with depression on World Mental Health Day on October 10 this year, and most people on the internet were supportive and even appreciative. Kangana, however, made a comment about her hailing from a ‘broken family’ and how that justified her depression.
5. When She Said That Drug Abuse Was the Cause of Depression
In the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and the issue being extended to Bollywood and its supposed drug problem, Kangana claimed that depression was the consequence of drug abuse.
6. When She Shamed Deepika Padukone for Talking About Her Mental Health Issues
“Yeh jo depression theory hai, yeh Deepika Padukone ji hai woh achanak se 2015-16 mein kehti hain ki ‘2008 mein mujhe dump kiya gaya tha, toh mujhe uska depression aaj ho gaya hai. Aath saalon baad. Uske baad, beech mein unke affairs bhi chal rahe hain, woh ache se kaam bhi kar rahin hain, woh bahar jaake sajti sawartin bhi hain, sab kuch hota hai, shaadi bhi ho rahi hai, but depression bhi saath saath mein hai. Aisa kaise depression hota hai joki aath saal baad hota hai?”Kangana Ranaut in an interview with a news channel on Deepika Padukone’s mental health struggles.
"This depression theory where Deepika Padukone ji suddenly claims in 2015-16 that 'I was dumped in 2008 and I was depressed'. 8 years later. After that, her affairs are going on alongside her work, she gets dolled up and goes out, everything happens, even marriage, all the while she's depressed. What kind of depression is this that occurs after 8 years?"
Watch the video here:
In the same interview, she also claimed how when someone is battling depression, they cannot carry on with life as usual and went about accusing Deepika of having a stable career and personal relationships while being depressed, in turn questioning the authenticity of her journey.
7. Invalidating Depression by Calling It a ‘Dhanda’
Referring to Deepika Padukone, Kangana once referred to depression as a 'dhanda' or business.
8. When She Took a Shot at Deepika’s Mental Health Once Again For No Reason
When it comes to conversations about mental health, Kangana often targets Deepika Padukone. This time was no different where she drew parallels between people shaming Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika's mental health struggle.
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