Making an appeal to people to realise she is a human being first, a mother second, and only then a celebrity, Bollywood actor Preity Zinta on Saturday, April 8 opened up about two recent incidents that had reportedly left her shaken. Taking to social media, Preity shared that the first incident happened after a woman tried to take a photo of her daughter. “When we politely asked her not to, she walked away, then suddenly scooped my daughter in her arms & planted a big wet kiss next to her mouth & ran off saying what a cute baby,” she wrote.
The actor added that this woman lived in an elite building and happened to be in the garden where her 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,” she said, further stating that her children were “NOT part of a package deal” and were not meant to be preyed on. “So please leave my kids alone & don’t come to them for photos or touch/grab them. They are infants & need to be treated like infants, not celebrities.”
Citing a second unsettling incident, Preity also came down heavily on the paparazzi for laughing as they watched her get harassed. She said that a person with disability kept trying to stop her when she was on her way to catch a flight, adding that he has harassed her over the years for money. “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 because it wasn’t enough & started getting aggressive. As u can see he followed us for some time & got more aggressive,” she said, attaching a video of the incident alongside.
Two events this week have left me a bit shaken pic.twitter.com/fbq6jr9gyV
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) April 8, 2023
“The photographers found this incident funny. Instead of helping us they filmed & laughed. NO ONE told him not to follow the car or harass us as anyone could have gotten hurt. Had there been an accident, I would have been blamed. My 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 & then a celebrity. I also don’t need to apologise for my success constantly & be bullied for it because I’ve worked very hard to get where I am,” she wrote.
Preity added that she had an equal right like anyone else in this country to live the way she wants, further asking people to think before they judge and stop blaming celebrities for everything. “I sincerely hope that the photographers that ask us for photos, videos & sound bytes also have the grace, humanity & maturity to act & help in the future instead of filming & laughing cuz most of the time it’s not funny,” she said.