Bengali actress Subhashree Ganguly faced massive trolling for her photos with football legend Lionel Messi during his GOAT India Tour 2025 at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after the event turned chaotic. With over 60,000 people present to catch a glimpse of Messi, poor crowd control led to unrest, forcing the footballer to leave the stadium early as angry fans hurled bottles and chairs in frustration.
Subhashree Ganguly Reacts To Backlash Over Her Photos With Messi
Reacting to the backlash over her photos with Messi, Subhashree shared a video on her Instagram handle addressing the issue. She stated that she had received an invitation to meet Messi and reached the designated hotel around 8:30 am on Saturday, where she met him for the first time and took photographs between 10:00 and 10:15 am. As she was about to leave, Messi's PR team requested her to go to Salt Lake Stadium, explaining that several arrangements were in place around Messi and that it would be more convenient for them if she accompanied them.
Check out the video:
Subhashree said that she herself witnessed the situation at the ground turning tense when Messi arrived at the stadium around 11:30 am and also claimed that the entire responsibility for the situation lay with the organisers.
"I myself was sitting in a tent near the field and couldn’t see Messi. So how would you have seen him? But was I on the field? Did I stand in your way? The way I'm being criticised, it’s as if I was standing next to Messi on the ground. What is my fault? Is it my fault that I went to a hotel and took photos? It could be my mistake that the photos got posted at the wrong time due to a technical issue," she added.
'What Is My Fault?'
Expressing her frustration at being attacked on social media, she questioned whether she was being targeted simply because she is a woman or because she is a Bengali film actress.
The actress further added, "Kareena Kapoor also went from Bollywood. Didn’t Shah Rukh Khan go to take photos? What is my fault? I am being taunted by being called someone's ex-girlfriend. It's almost 2026. Even women are addressing women like this. Have you decided that this is how you’ll treat me?"
Subhashree Ganguly Says Her Children Are Being Given Death Threats
Concluding the video, Subhashree said that she understands people's emotions, which is why she initially tried to take the criticism directed at her in stride. Raising her voice, she added that she believed people were merely venting their frustration and that it would help them feel lighter. However, she revealed that her children have now become targets of abuse, with threats being made claiming that her two young children would be killed. Subhashree firmly stated that she will not accept this under any circumstances, being a mother.
