A recent tweet from megastar Amitabh Bachchan during the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026 stirred up a storm. Netizens were quick to jump on the “racist” bandwagon and take his case. The massive trolling led to Bachchan admitting it was a “mistake”.
This wasn’t the first time he offended people. Back in 2018, when (ironically) France had won the World Cup, he had tweeted, “AFRICA won the World Cup 2018!!!”
Often, Bollywood stars unknowingly say things that are controversial. Times have changed, but the stars haven’t. Here are five such instances:
Suniel Shetty
Last year, he praised his daughter Athiya Shetty for opting for a natural delivery over the "comfort" of a C-section. He later apologised to the women who were hurt by his statement.
Obviously, one has to understand that the majority of men are clueless about the nuances of childbirth because it is women who become pregnant and deliver babies.
Recently, Suniel revealed that his 15-month-old granddaughter Evaarah offers imaginary laddoos to a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As soon as netizens heard it, bas phir kya tha, solid trolling began. Reactions ranged from jokes about the actor trying to get a political favour to shock that a toddler could express herself with such clarity.
Vivek Oberoi’s controversy
Once upon a time, Vivek Oberoi was an actor with good projects in his kitty. One such film was Krrish 3 (2013). He was cast as a villain named Kaal, and I remember being super curious about his role when I had first seen glimpses of it during the film’s trailer.
However, unfortunately, Vivek got so carried away while promoting the film that he claimed his fans (cough cough) were comparing his performance to Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning act of Joker in The Dark Knight (2008).
First, there was disbelief that he could commit such blasphemy, then fans of the late Heath made sure Vivek understood why exactly he had offended them.
In later interviews, he clarified that his statements were “misinterpreted”. Okay, alright, clarification accepted.
Varun Dhawan’s comparison
Moving on to another sacrilege. Varun Dhawan compared Dilwale (2015) to Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010).
Apparently, he had tried his hand at being witty and sarcastic during a press interaction. When pestered by journalists to reveal the closely guarded plot of his movie, he had very innocently asked if they understood Inception's plot from its trailer.
The comment quickly went viral and spawned a massive wave of internet memes and jokes. We still want to know why Varun, why?
Salman Khan’s remark
The actor is no stranger to controversial statements. But this one is perhaps one of the worst ones.
While promoting Sultan (2016), bhai, who played a wrestler in the film, had stated, "When I used to walk out of that ring, it used to be actually like a raped woman walking out."
He added he could not walk straight and felt completely drained.
Needless to say, even back when netizens weren’t as active as they are today, the revulsion from people was intense. So much so that the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the Maharashtra State Commission for Women issued formal notices demanding a public apology from Salman.
While he didn’t, his father Salim Khan did it on his behalf.
Jim Sarbh and Kangana Ranaut
During the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, a video surfaced online from an after-party in which Jim was seen cracking a controversial, dark satirical joke about rape.
The thing that triggered everyone was Kangana Ranaut’s reaction to the “punchline”. She was seen hysterically laughing along with the others.
The video sparked outrage on social media. Many netizens and commentators accused Kangana of hypocrisy. The actress had always spoken up against insensitive remarks made by other stars regarding this particular crime.
One wonders, why has the bar of things being funny become so low in the past decade?
In conclusion
Recently, rock 'n' roll legend Mick Jagger admitted that decades of global superstardom inevitably “alter a person’s psyche, causing them to become detached from everyday reality.”
He noted that “living an abnormal, celebrity-centric life leaves a permanent mark on how performers interact with the world and other people.”
His statement, in the context of how Bollywood celebs unknowingly say offensive things, makes perfect sense.
If one is only surrounded by other celebs, chamchas and PRs who don’t dare to show the stars the mirror, this won’t be the last time one hears absurd quotes by the stars.
