Getting trolled and being slammed with toxic online hate has become an occupational hazard for Bollywood actors. But actress and cricket host Mandira Bedi isn’t willing to take it lying down. Recently, she introduced her adopted daughter Tara to her virtual world. But the young child, darker in skin tone than her foster family, was immediately panned for her appearance and called a ‘street kid’. The young child, with a mop of adorable curls, was also described as a pick-up from ‘slumdog centre’. But foster mom Bedi didn’t back down. She went on record, publicly named, shamed and hit back at those ‘appalling’ and ‘nasty’ posts. "More from the model citizen. He calls himself Rajesh Tripathi, which definitely isn't his name, because sickos like this are the biggest cowards too, who only know how to wag their tongues behind the shield of anonymity,” shot back Bedi. Thanks to her empowered and emboldened stand, accounts that trolled her daughter has been suspended by India’s cyber cell. We need more Mandira Bedi-like figures in today’s world. Here’s more power to her for fighting off vitriolic online hate. [COMMENT BY: Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Assistant Editor Features ]
IANS