Over the past few months, a lot has been said about mental health. However, with celebrities giving unverified advice, and uneducated takes, we don’t know whether it is a great time for speaking up. Then again, when you are a celebrity, does anyone even hold you accountable? We’re not sure. Nonetheless, here are 5 celebs who have taken it upon themselves to spread misinformation about mental health like it’s nobody’s business.
a) Kangana Ranaut
In the limelight for a number of reasons, the Manikarnika actress took to Twitter to launch an attack on Deepika Padukone over alleged drug use. In a tweet, she wrote, “Repeat after me, depression is a consequence of drug abuse,” which is not true at all. Netizens and medical professionals on Twitter were not amused.
b) Ankita Lokhande
In a post uploaded on Instagram, the Pavitra Rishta star trivialized the issue of mental health by captioning her photo with the words, “How to be happy, Decide every morning that you are in a good mood ”. It grossly undermines the issues faced by millions of people who are battling serious mental illnesses, as well as those who are looking to seek help.
c) Kamaal R. Khan
If his latest YouTube video is to be believed, mental illness is a con. According to KRK, he went to several cities and towns in India, where there were no adults who suffered from depression or professionals dealing with mental illness. Well done KRK, thankfully your perspective doesn’t matter much.
d) Mukesh Bhatt
The director told Times Now that he feared Sushant Singh Rajput was “going the Parveen Babi way.” This not only makes mental illness sound like an exclusive issue that happens to women, but also reduces SSR’s struggles to a problematic cliche. Singer Babul Supriyo lashed out at him on Twitter and rightfully so.
e) Salman Khan
In yet another embarrassing statement by the celebrity, back in February 2018, during the TiE Global Summit,the Bharat actor had said, “I see a lot of people getting depressed and emotional but I can’t afford that luxury of being depressed or sad or emotional because no matter what I am going through, it works against me.”
Lead image credit: Instagram/Kangana Ranaut+ Ankita Lokhande + Rediff