Vivek Oberoi's Meme On Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Draws Flak, Called Out By Sonam Kapoor, Jwala Gutta

A recent tweet by ‘PM Narendra Modi’ biopic actor Vivek Oberoi has not gone down too well with women at large due to its misogynist outlook. The actor has faced severe criticism on social media and has also earned himself a notice from the National Commission for Women (NCW) for sharing a meme equating election exit polls to his past relationship with actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Oberoi, who was in news last month when his biopic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was forcibly pushed back before the 2019 Lok Sabha polling began -- to be released this Friday, faced severe criticism over the meme. In fact, actress Sonam Kapoor, who is currently in the French Riviera for the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival denounced Oberoi's tweet as 'disgusting and classless.' Her sentiments were shared by many on Twitter.

Disgusting and classless. https://t.co/GUB7K6dAY8

— Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) May 20, 2019

Earlier, Vivek Oberoi tweeted the meme an endorsement: "Haha, creative. No politics here, just life."

Vivek Oberoi has defended his meme and has asked Sonam Kapoor, who called him 'disgusting' for the tweet, to not 'over-react' in the matter. In a video clip posted by news agency ANI, he can also be seen advising Kapoor to not 'overact' in her films.

Vivek Oberoi adds that he has been working for women empowerment for more than a decade and his tweet doesn't hurt anybody's sentiments.

Vivek Oberoi speaks on Sonam Kapoor's reaction to his tweet (on exit polls), "...Aap apni filmon mein thoda kam overact karein aur social media pe thoda kam overreact karein. I've been working in women empowerment for 10 yrs now. I don't think this is hurting anyone's sentiments" pic.twitter.com/pOWAwO29N6

— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2019

However, National Commission for Women issued a notice to Vivek Oberoi for his tweet, according to ANI.

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Not only that, he faced a strong Twitter backlash which saw noted personalities like Sonam Kapoor and sportsperson Jwala Gutta reacted with disgust.

Jwala Gutta wrote, "Extremely absurd of you to tweet this!! Disappointing!"

Twitter was vehement in its criticism with many telling the ‘Saathiya’ actor to grow up and move on. Others pointed out that the meme, which he helped circulate, contained an image of Aaradhya, a minor, which was being used without the consent of Abhishek and Aishwarya.

A number of women came out against the tweet, with one Shyamantika Sethi posting, "#VivekOberoi the tweet is in bad taste. Why should you malign a lady for your selfish ends. Distasteful and disgusting. You must apologize." Others too followed suit.

Vivek Oberoi Apologises

After inviting the ire of many for his meme, Vivek on Tuesday issued an apology on his Twitter. He also deleted the offensive tweet featuring the meme.

Vivek tweeted, “Sometimes what appears to be funny and harmless at first glance to one, may not be so to others. I have spent the last 10 years empowering more than 2000 underprivileged girls, I cant even think of being disrespectful to any woman ever.”

He added, “Even if one woman is offended by my reply to the meme, it calls for remedial action. Apologies. tweet deleted.”

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Notably, Vivek and Aishwarya had worked in the film ‘Kyun! Ho Gaya Na’, following which they are believed to have dated. However, the relationship was short and Aishwarya, who is currently at Cannes, married Abhishek Bachchan a few years later. The couple's daughter Aaradhya was born in 2011.