Amitabh Bachchan statements on KBC are making headlines for all the wrong reasons these days. More often than not, the megastar is landing in soups owing to his opinions and views expressed on the show.
Something similar happened recently when Bachchan praised IMF Chief Gita Gopinath while asking a question on her. While Gopinath herself was delighted, the internet was not in a mood to let go of this that easily.
Amitabh Bachchan asked a contestant a question on the IMF Chief. Showing a picture of Gita Gopinath, he asked, "The economist seen in this picture has been the chief economist of which organisation since 2019?" Looking at the picture, Amitabh Bachchan said, "Itna Sundar chehra inka economy ke saath koi jod hi nahi sakta." Gita also took to social media and said, "Ok, I don't think I will ever get over this. As a HUGE fan of Big B @SrBachchan, the Greatest of All Time, this is special!"
Now, the whole episode has left netizens divided. While many have called out Amitabh Bachchan for his "sexist" statement, many have questioned Gita Gopinath being okay with it. One user wrote, "Her face is so beautiful that no one would connect her with the economy".
This is so incredibly sexist and dumb and I wish given you champion had called it out as such instead of being starstruck. Your response which went viral seems to suggest you're ok with sexism." Another one wrote, "Frankly speaking, that was cheap. You are a scholar and all he could talk about was your face. We need to tell the next generation about long-lasting achievements. Not some superficial short term beauty stuff. Big opportunity missed by Big B."
"In you awe, you missed some serious sexism", "So sad that he just had to mention your looks while pointing to your earned achievement. Bet you he wouldn't have made a mention if, say, @raghuramrajan or @kaushikcbasu were on the screen. Anyway, congratulations to you @GitaGopinath : keep the flag flying high!" were some more comments from the netizens. However, there was another section that urged everyone not to take things this seriously.
"Oh please. Don't spread negativity by judging these comments through your narrow-minded focus on sexism", "Don't tell next generation. They will learn from Geeta and other remarkable people anyhow. She is a scholar and she took the decision that it was just a casual way of admiring her. Nothing much. The reaction of her and other who are calling out cheap shows maturity level that is required", "How can you folks possibly take out negative aspects of something this normal, even the person involved herself cannot, is truly a gift," was some more comments on the video that's now gone viral.