British actor Benedict Garrett, who stars alongside Yash and Kiara Advani in Geetu Mohandas' upcoming Kannada-English film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, has come out in support of Kiara after she faced online trolling over the recently released song Tabaahi.
According to Hindustan Times, Benedict criticised the double standards of social media users who praised Yash while targeting Kiara for appearing in romantic scenes despite being recently married and a new mother.
In a video shared on his Instagram account, Benedict questioned why Kiara was being judged for doing the same job that earned Yash praise. According to Hindustan Times, he pointed out that the contrasting reactions reveal a clear gender bias.
He said, “I’ve seen people praising Yash, filling his comments with fire emojis and saying how amazing he looks. But when it comes to Kiara Advani, she’s become the butt of jokes.
People are saying things like, oh, she only just got married, she’s a mother, she’s on a honeymoon instead of Sidharth Malhotra. Seriously?”
Alongside the video, Benedict also addressed the issue in his Instagram caption. According to Hindustan Times, he wrote:
“Why is Kiara Advani being attacked for doing her job, while Yash is being praised for doing exactly the same thing?”
The actor further highlighted what he described as the hypocrisy behind the criticism, reminding viewers that Yash is also married and has children.
According to Hindustan Times, Benedict said:
“You see, Yash, he’s also married, he also has children. So why is only the woman getting the abuse, while the man apparently gets the applause? Listen, here’s the reality check. They are actors. Their job is to act, to portray characters, to make you believe that they are in love, even when they’re not. Their job is to tell stories that reflect the human experience.”
He also expanded on his views in the caption accompanying the video. According to Hindustan Times, Benedict wrote:
“The backlash over the Tabahi music video says far more about society than it does about either actor.”
Continuing his defence of Kiara, Benedict argued that audiences often forget the professional nature of an actor's work. According to Hindustan Times, he said both Kiara Advani and her husband, actor Sidharth Malhotra, would naturally understand that acting requires portraying romance, intimacy, kissing, and even simulated sexual scenes when a story demands it.
He said:
“They’re not criticising her for her acting. They’re criticising her for being somebody’s wife, for being somebody’s mother. As though marriage somehow means an actress should stop acting. That is ridiculous.”
He concluded by saying:
“The problem is not her professionalism. It’s the double standards and the hypocrisy of the people attacking her.”
According to Hindustan Times, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups has attracted attention ever since its announcement, with several promotional materials generating debate because of their intense violence and sensual imagery.
Most recently, the release of the song Tabaahi reignited the controversy. According to Hindustan Times, while many fans praised Yash's screen presence, Kiara became the primary target of online criticism because of her romantic scenes in the music video, despite both actors performing as part of their professional roles.
Directed by Geetu Mohandas, Toxic also stars Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria, and Rukmini Vasanth. According to Hindustan Times, the film is scheduled to release in theatres on August 26
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