'There Is No Disrespect': Dia Mirza Slams Trolls After 'Elitist' Backlash Over 5-Year-Old Son's Coconut Vendor Remark On Plastic Use

Actress and environmental activist Dia Mirza recently faced backlash after revealing how her five-year-old son, Avyaan Azaad Rekhi, schooled a coconut water delivery worker for delivering coconut water in plastic bags with plastic straws. Following her revelation, social media users criticised Dia and her son, accusing them of 'entitled arrogance' and calling the incident elitist. Reacting to the backlash, the actress maintained that there was 'no disrespect' involved.

Dia Mirza Hits Back At Trolls Over Son's Plastic Bag Incident

Lashing out at the trolls, Dia told Times Now, "Everybody who knows me knows how I treat people. So, I don’t have to justify how I treat human beings." She went on to explain that her son had simply recognised something that the family does not use and expressed his understanding of their environmental values.

Dia Mirza Defends Son

According to Dia, her son saw the coconut being delivered in a plastic bag and understood that plastic was something the family avoids. "The child had the agency and the awareness to say, ‘Please yeh wapas le jao hamare ghar mein. It’s not allowed.’ There is no disrespect here either," she said.

'All About The Optics That Were Created Around The Story'

Clarifying her statement, Dia explained that her son was simply learning to say that they do not use plastic, but people turned the incident into a discussion about the coconut vendor, which was not the intention. She further pointed out that the incident did not take place during the peak of summer and said that concerns about the coconut vendor having to come out in the heat to deliver coconut water in a plastic bag overlooked the fact that it was his livelihood.

The actress added that the controversy was largely about the optics created around the story, with people calling it elitist and disrespectful towards the coconut vendor. However, she stressed that this was neither the approach of the original story nor the reality of what had happened.

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Dia was last seen in the Netflix show Operation Safed.