Online trolls are those uninvited guests on social media who we want off the internet, ASAP. While these trolls time and again prove their ‘worth’, this time, these ‘gems’ have achieved a new low after they targeted Bollywood actress Richa Chadha for voicing her opinion.
It all began after the Fukrey actress voiced her views on Hindutva supporters.
हाँ है भारत में हिन्दू घर्म को ख़तरा।हिंदू धर्म को ख़तरा है हिन्दुत्ववादियों से। धर्म बचाओ,हिन्दुत्ववादियों को भगाओ। जनहित में जारी।
— TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) May 5, 2018
While the actress did receive backlash from many, one particular user went a notch up by abusing the actress and also threatened to rape and kill her.
After receiving the threat, Richa tweeted,
Hey tweeps!Don’t care about the targeted abuse because there’s a lot of unemployment in the country rn,if someone needs to work for ₹10 per tweet,I don’t judge them.But RAPE AND MURDER threats?Come on @TwitterIndia @Twitter pic.twitter.com/1AS8wlUPWg
— TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) May 9, 2018
What also came as a shocker was when a specific user asked Richa why she didn’t report the user, she replied saying, “I did. They said ‘no violation within context’.”
While Richa received a lot of support from her fans, her friends from the film fraternity also targeted the micro-blogging site to take action against such users.
Farhan Akhtar tweeted,
Top management at Twitter must regroup and decide what they’d like their service to be remembered for.
If it’s for good, then they need to get smarter in its regulation. Rape and death threats cannot be allowed or go unpunished. @twitter @TwitterIndia— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) May 10, 2018
Even Richa’s Fukrey co-star Pulkit Samrat supported the actress. He wrote,
Scumbags! @TwitterIndia should do something about such openly threatening tweets!
Riches.. u define superwoman for me! ?? @RichaChadha https://t.co/J5Fy98AEvG— Pulkit Samrat (@PulkitSamrat) May 9, 2018
Apart from Pulkit and Farhan, even Swara Bhasker and Pooja Bhatt voiced their opinion.
The kind of abuse and slander @RichaChadha is facing on #Twitter amounts to harassment quite clearly.. @TwitterIndia @Twitter u wanna take some action and block these accounts that clearly violate ur community standards! Shame on this filth and u stay strong Richa! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/DfTckAE4U2
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) May 9, 2018
You must report this. Twitter needs to take responsibility for this. They cannot provide a platform to people who openly threaten to rape and maim women.
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) May 9, 2018
You have our support, Richa!