Actor, TV host, and Bigg Boss Malayalam 1 winner Pearle Maaney has lost followers on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube since her post on the student protests. She also disabled comments on her post after receiving more backlash over her Instagram Stories about a ‘failed filmmaker’. In two days, the actor has lost over 3 lakh followers on Instagram alone.
Pearle Maaney loses Instagram followers
At the time of writing, Pearle has 2.4 million followers on Instagram. On July 24, when she posted about the students, she had around 2.7 million followers. The actor has also reportedly seen a drop in her follower count on YouTube and Facebook since the backlash. While she disabled the comments on her post about the protests, Pearl has been getting spammed on her other posts by those who oppose her views.
“You don’t understand pressure because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. We weren’t. We fight for every opportunity, every mark, and every chance to build a better future. That’s the difference between us,” slammed an Instagram user on one of her posts. “Why don’t u just delete the post itself. Soo much for Comment is a reflection of Ur freedom of speech,” wrote another. “I’m so happy seeing the one whose mask slipped lose followers, down from 5.7M to 5.6M right now,” commented one person when she began losing followers.
What Pearle Maaney said about the protests
Pearle wrote a long note on her Instagram account, calling the protests ‘painful’ and ‘heartbreaking’. “All I could think was … Please don’t get hurt. Please stay safe. If your life is in danger, go back home. No cause is worth losing a life over,” she wrote in one portion of her statement. In another, she wrote that while she hoped that the students deserve a fair education system, she hopes that the original purpose of the movement isn’t overshadowed.
“At the same time, I hope that the original purpose of this movement is never overshadowed. Whenever any movement grows this large, emotions run high, different voices emerge, and the conversation can become more complex. My hope is that the focus always remains on the students and the future they are asking us to build,” she wrote in one portion of her statement. Pearle also captioned her post, “The comments section is a reflection of my Freedom of Speech,” with the comments disabled.
After she began receiving flak, Pearle seemingly took a dig at filmmaker Sibi Malayil as she wrote on her Instagram Stories, “My post should have come with a trigger warning I guess! It has made a lot of people uncomfortable! It has triggered so many people that I want peace safety and non violence. I wonder who these people are. A failed filmmaker now writing a 10 page script about my 4 page post. Adding chili powder and ajinomoto to make it as unhealthy as possible.” She also added, “And yes my favourite colour is saffron! I think I love it the most on our Indian flag.”
Sibi’s son Joe took to his Instagram Stories to slam her, writing, “Hey momma bear that ‘failed filmmaker’ is my father. Check properly before who you are dealing with. How lazy must you be to read 7 slides? You expect 5.7 million followers to read your half cooked diplomacy and 7 slides is too much for you? Since you made this personal, let the games begin. ‘That failed filmmaker’ didn’t raise a son without a spine, unlike your father who raised a coward. PS his name is Siby Malayil. Go ahead. Do your best.” He had also released a note on his feed previously, criticising her stance.