Global icon and Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who recently announced the Oscar nominations with her pop idol husband Nick Jonas, shut down Australian journalist Peter Ford for his tweet questioning the credibility and worthiness of this power couple to announce Academy nods.
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His provocative tweet read: “No disrespect to these two but I am not sure their contribution to the movies qualifies them to be announcing Oscar nominees” was met with immediate backlash with Chopra Jonas fans jumping to her defence on social media. The tweet also prompted Chopra to respond to the journalist directly.
Image Credit: Oscars.com
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“Would love your thoughts on what qualifies someone. Here are my 60+ film credentials for your adept consideration,” tweeted Chopra Jonas to her 27.1 million followers, while tagging Ford specifically.
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Her post has already been widely shared by her fans who are schooling Ford on Chopra Jonas’ achievements. The journalist’s account is restricted and his tweet has been put on restrictive viewing mode. But he isn’t apologetic for expressing his thoughts. His bio reads ‘The best & most widely heard entertainment reporter in Australia and NZ. Allegedly. Retweet doesn’t necessarily mean I agree - just thinking it’s interesting.”
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Producer Sapna Bhavnani, with a verified Twitter account, supported Chopra with: “Patriarchy strikes in all forms. Thanks for taking one down for our team Priyanka.” Many also called Ford out for his ignorance and felt his comment reeked of racism. Chopra Jonas, who’s one of India’s highest-paid actresses and a big cultural export to the West, also saw her production ‘The White Tiger’ nominated for an Oscar this year.
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A social media user commented: “Who’s this guy from down under claiming to be “most well-known entertainment reporter from Aus & NZ? Leaving his racist views aside, he should have heard about Priyanka if he has any iota of knowledge about Indian film industry or even about Hollywood as a matter of fact.”
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Another social media user tweeted: “Not only does this diminish a woman’s career but also disregards the importance of World Cinema and its presence at the Oscars. Like film doesn’t just revolve around American movies.”
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But Peter Ford isn’t willing to back down and continues to stand his ground despite facing heavy backlash for his tweet questioning Jonas’ credentials to announce the Oscar nods. “I haven’t been ‘taken down’ at all just a bunch of abusive and racist tweets. I stand by what I said. The Hollywood credentials of these two are minimal – but they are both very successful in their careers. But thanks for your feedback,” tweeted Ford. He also tweeted that while Chopra Jonas can boast some Hollywood films, her husband doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
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“It’s interesting when someone with 27.5 million followers responds to you & isn’t happy. You then COP a lot of angry abuse. It doesn’t faze me at all, it’s actually fun, but it does clog up my time line. Yet for all the abuse, not one person can name a Hollywood credit for Mr Jonas,” he pointed out to his 18k followers.
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Chopra Jonas, who has acted in celebrated Bollywood films such as ‘The Sky Is Pink’ (pictured), ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ and ‘Barfi!’, has also made successful inroads into Hollywood. She’s now working on the fourth instalment of the action hit ‘Matrix; and ‘Text For You’.
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It’s not the first time that Chopra Jonas has received flak. In 2018, The Cut ran a piece that labeled her as ‘global scam artist, but the article was taken down after the widespread backlash and criticism it evoked. The writer also apologised for offending the couple with her hurtful and spiteful comment piece. “I want to sincerely apologise to Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, and to the readers I offended and hurt with my words. I do not condone racism, xenophobia, or sexism. I take full responsibility for what I wrote, and I was wrong. I am truly sorry.”
Image Credit: AFP
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