Actress and social media personality Anjali Arora spoke out in support of gaming influencer Payal Dhare, popularly known as Payal Gaming, amid the ongoing viral MMS controversy involving her name. Drawing from her own personal experience, Anjali opened up about the long-term emotional and professional damage caused by fake and unverified content circulated online.
Reacting to the controversy, Anjali shared a detailed statement in which she recalled the trauma she faced three years ago when a fake MMS was circulated using her name.
She wrote, “Three years ago, I went through the trauma of a fake MMS being circulated using my name. Seeing the same thing happen to Payal Gaming today brings back those painful memories.” By referring to her past, Anjali explained that such incidents leave deep scars and continue to affect victims long after the controversy fades from public attention.
In her statement, Anjali mentioned how casually such content is consumed and shared online. She said, “People don't realise how damaging their actions are. For them, it's a minute of entertainment – for us, it becomes years of trauma.”
She went on to explain that the false controversy cost her professional opportunities, adding that she was removed from good projects and still faces backlash in the industry, not due to her work but because of lies.
Anjali also shed light on the ongoing online harassment she continues to face. “Even now, I face constant abuse in my comment section… people use filthy language, ask vulgar questions, call me degrading names, and troll me without thinking for a second about the impact of their words,” she wrote.
Calling out the mindset behind such behaviour, Anjali stated, “It's disturbing how easily fake narratives are believed and how quickly empathy is replaced by judgment. This mindset is disgusting and absolutely unacceptable.” She concluded her message by asserting, “No woman deserves to suffer for someone else's cheap curiosity or baseless lies.”
Payal Gaming's MMS leak controversy
Payal Gaming, one of India’s most popular gaming influencers, recently found herself at the centre of a similar controversy after her name was falsely linked to a viral MMS video circulating on social media. The clip reportedly shows a woman in an intimate moment with a man, leading several users to speculate - without any evidence - that Payal was the woman in the video.
Amid the backlash, Payal issued a detailed statement on Wednesday, December 17, clarifying that she is not the person featured in the video. The 25-year-old also confirmed that legal action is being initiated against those misusing her identity.
She also urged media organisations and social media users to refrain from sharing, reproducing, or speculating about the video in any form, stating that appropriate legal steps are being taken to ensure accountability under the law.
