Pooja Bedi on standing up for men’s rights: ‘Men are equally human, they cry, their rights matter equally’

Actor Pooja Bedi said that she believes in gender equality and being a ‘women’s rights crusader’ does not make her blind to injustices against men. She was explaining her recent stance against an advertisement for a streaming service, which featured Sanjana Sanghi slapping her male co-star repeatedly.

“People who know me as a women’s rights crusader r perplexed 2 see me stand up 4 the rights of men! 2 make things CLEAR I believe in #GenderEquality If women in past didn’t have rights or were abused it doesn’t mean women hav a right 2 torment men today as absurd ancestral payback,” she wrote on Twitter.

“2 wrongs don’t make a right &we have 2 sensitize BOTH sexes on #domesticviolence &equal rights&opportunities in order 2 create a society that’s respectful &progressive. Men r equally human. They hurt.They cry.Their rights matter equally @sharmarekha @amitdeshmra @DeepikaBhardwaj,” she added in another tweet.

On Wednesday, Pooja called out the advertisement for streaming service Lionsgate Play for normalising domestic violence against men. “Absolutely HORRIFIED 2 watch this advt. Domestic violence against men is NOT acceptable. What if a man was slapping a woman in this advt? This should NEVER CLEAR an advertising board! #men have rights! #domesticviolence @sharmarekha @smritiirani @DeepikaBhardwaj @amitdeshmra,” she wrote. The video has now been deleted by Lionsgate Play from Twitter.

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In the video, Sanjana and another actor play a couple, trying to figure out which film to watch on the streaming app. She slaps him eight times before he finally tells her to stop. She then tells him that they will watch the eighth film on the list.

Pooja, who made her Bollywood debut with Vishkanya in 1991, has acted in a number of films including Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Lootere. She was also a part of several reality shows including Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, Nach Baliye, Bigg Boss and Maa Exchange.

Recently, Pooja was seen in the Netflix series Masaba Masaba as a therapist. She also starred in the Zee5 original film Comedy Couple, which also featured Saqib Saleem and Shweta Basu Prasad.

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