Gouri Kishan calls out body-shaming question at press meet

CHENNAI: Actor Gouri Kishan, who is on a promotional spree for her upcoming film Others, directed by Abin Hariharan and co-starring Aditya Madhavan, Jagan, and Anju Kurian, recently called out journalists for their sexist and body-shaming remarks towards female actors during press meets.

The incident occurred while she was attending a press meet in Chennai on Thursday, when one of the journalists asked Gouri's co-star about her weight.

While the director began to answer the question, Gouri interrupted, saying that asking about her weight is irrelevant to the film in question. She called out the journalist on his sexism, terming his question "stupid," triggering an argument between the media and the actress.

"How does my weight concern you? How is it relevant to this movie? Every woman has a different body type. I will let my talent speak. I have done only character-driven films so far. I do not need your validation," she said in the middle of a heated argument, where Gouri went on to ask the journalist about his weight. The media fraternity present at the event then lost their cool and replied to the actor, saying that it is not them who are in front of the camera, but her.

When the other journalists in the room attempted to justify the question, saying it was a light-hearted question, she argued that it was not funny. "I did not find it funny. Stop normalising body-shaming. It was a question about me; I have the right to have an opinion."

The actress further added, "I have not been asked a single question about the character I play in the film, or how I prepared for the role. But all they want to know is about my weight." She further questioned why female actors are asked about their weight, while male actors are not.

"You are objectifying a female character," she said as the argument grew further. "This is not journalism; you are a disgrace to your profession," she added.