Kiara Advani opened up about the toll that online speculation regarding her appearance, prompted by pictures from events, took on her self-esteem. She highlighted how consistent negative remarks can resonate personally, regardless of their accuracy.
Kiara Advani once said that online talk about her looks briefly made her doubt herself. She said she usually ignores trolls to protect herself, but she still feels hurt at times. She asked people to be respectful and remember that public figures are human and have emotions.
When rumours begin to feel real
The actress said the comments on those photos focused on plastic surgery claims, which caught her by surprise and made her question herself for a moment. She was taken aback by the response to those images. “Main kisi event ke liye gayi thi, jo pictures bahar aaye (I went for an event and when the pictures that came out) on different social media platforms, there were a lot of comments about, ‘Oh, she has done plastic surgery.’”The repeated nature of the comments slowly began to affect her perception. Kiara admitted, “And the irony of it was main almost believe karne lagi ki maine kuch kiya hai apne aap ko (I almost began to believe that I did something to my face).” She said repeated claims online can begin to feel true, even when they are false. Seeing the same comments under different posts and repeated by multiple accounts slowly made her question what she knew, until the rumor started to feel real.
Learning to navigate online negativity
Kiara also spoke about her general approach to online trolling. She said ignoring negativity is often her defense mechanism, though it does not always shield her completely. “I say that I ignore it but it is a form of protecting yourself,” she shared. Stressing the need for compassion in digital spaces, she added, “Be respectful towards others and understand ki yaar yeh bhi insaan hai, inke bhi emotions hote hain (that we are humans too and we also have emotions).”Kiara started her Bollywood career with ‘Fugly’ in 2014. She became more popular after ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ in 2016 with Disha Patani and late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. After that, she acted in films like ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’, ‘Vinaya Vidheya Rama’, ‘Kabir Singh’ with Shahid Kapoor, and ‘Machine’.By opening up on ‘Pinch’, Kiara Advani showed how powerful online words can be and reminded people that empathy is just as important as attention on social media.
