“Don’t touch me,” said Aahana S Kumra to a fan who thought it was okay for him to hold her hand while clicking a photograph during a ZEE5 event. How many times have you said these words or heard someone else say them?
‘No’, ‘Please, No’, ‘Back off’, ‘I am not comfortable’, ‘Remove your hands’, ‘Do not touch me’ and ‘Do not come closer’ - all these phrases are complete statements and have no underlying message that could be read as a ‘yes’.
While the fan immediately took his hands off Kumra’s, she immediately left the premise, and one could make out from her expression how uncomfortable she became.
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While some might say it was a casual action of the fan, one cannot deny that he held her without her consent. In a world where fans go as crazy as getting inked with the face of their favourite celebrity or going through multiple cosmetic procedures to look like an actor they worship so much, we need to set boundaries.
A celebrity is a public figure for sure, but their personal space and body are not at the discretion of fans to break in or touch. Even a celebrity is a human first whose privacy deserves the same amount of respect as any other citizen of the country. They must be asked before even if one thinks it is okay to click a picture with any kind of contact.
15-Year-Old Misbehaved With Sushmita Sen
In an old interview, Sushmita Sen opened up about an incident when she caught a 15-year-old boy misbehaving with her. She said, “Because there were so many men there, he thought I wouldn't notice who did it. So I grabbed his hand and I was so shocked when I pulled him up that he was a little boy.”
She grabbed the boy by his neck as if she would be chatting with him. She told him, “I make a hue and cry about this right now, your life will be over baccha.” She never filed a complaint against the boy.
Priyanka Chopra Got Uncomfortable At The Airport
A few weeks back, a video went viral where a fan tried to click an image with Priyanka Chopra. He pushed her a bit to get attention to his phone, leaving the global star feeling uncomfortable. The incident happened at the Delhi Airport when she was in the capital city attending the engagement of Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha.
These are just three incidents when fans or people in the mob thought it was okay to cross the boundaries of personal space because the person standing in front of them was a public figure.
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Why Consent Is Important?
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Artika Singh, a sexuality educator, says, “Consent is crucial at every stage of a relationship and among strangers. Because someone is a public figure, it does not give them the right to touch a celebrity without their permission."
She added that many celebs allow their fans to touch them or give them a peck on the cheek. The case may stand true for fans asking a celebrity to hold them, hug them or kiss their cheeks. These are incidents of mutual consent.
However, Singh says if a person or celebrity has not given their fans consent to touch them, they must refrain from crossing the personal space. She adds, "Consent is important even if a relationship is decades long or two people are married."
Fans touching celebrities whom they worship is not only limited to female celebrities, there have been many times when cis-male celebrities have been caught on camera trying to get away from a fan because they made them feel uncomfortable by crossing a line.
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What are your thoughts on fans crossing the boundaries of the personal space of celebrities and touching them without consent? Share your comments on social media and stay tuned to HerZindagi.
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