Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Naga Chaitanya hit back at Telangana Minister K. Surekha for comments on their divorce

Samantha Ruth Prabhu reacted to Telangana Minister Konda Surekha’s remark linking Bharat Rashtra Samiti chief K.T. Rama Rao to the separation of Naga Chaitanya and Samantha, and said that her divorce was a “personal matter.”

Ms. Prabhu took to her Instagram story to issue a statement on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) evening. She clarified that her divorce was “mutual consent and amicable” and there was no political conspiracy involved. Samantha also requested people to stop speculating about her divorce.

“To be a woman, to come out and work, to survive in a glamorous industry where women are more often than not treated as props, to fall in love & to fall out of love, to still stand up and fight... It takes a lot of courage and strength,” the statement read.

“My divorce is a personal matter, and I request that you refrain from speculating about it. Our choice to keep things private doesn’t invite misrepresentation. To clarify: my divorce was mutual consent and amicable, with no political conspiracy involved. Could you please keep my name out of political battles? I have always remained non-political and wish to continue doing so,” Ms. Prabhu added.

This came after Congress leader, K. Surekha linked KTR to the separation of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, and alleged that KTR used to tap the phones of the actresses and blackmail them.

Speaking to the media, Ms. Surekha said, “It is K.T. Rama Rao because of whom (actress) Samantha’s divorce happened... He was a minister at that time and used to tap the phones of the actresses and then find their weaknesses to blackmail them... He used to make them drug addicts and then do this... Everyone knows this, Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, his family, everybody is aware that such a thing happened.”

Naga Chaitanya responds to Surekha’s comments

Naga Chaitanya responded to the Minister’s comments as well with a post on X, stating that Ms. Surekha’s claims were false and unacceptable.

“The decision of divorce is easily one of the most painful and unfortunate life decisions one has to make. After a lot of thought, a mutual decision was made by me and my former spouse to part ways. It was a decision made in peace, owing to our different life goals and in the interest of moving forward with respect and dignity as two mature adults,” he wrote.

“However, there have been various baseless and completely ridiculous gossips on the matter so far. I have remained silent all this while out of deep respect for my earlier spouse as well as my family.

“Today, the claim made by Minister Konda Surekha garu is not only false, it is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable. Women deserve to be supported and respected. Taking advantage and exploiting the personal life decisions of celebrities for the sake of media headlines is shameful,” the actor wrote.

BRS, actors condemn remarks

Ms. Surekha’s remarks sparked massive controversy, with several BRS leaders as well as superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni condemning the remarks.

Mr. Akkineni said that Ms. Surekha should not use the lives of movie stars to criticise her opponents, and urged her to respect the privacy of others.

“I strongly condemn the comments of the Minister, Konda Surekha. Don’t use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize your opponents. Please respect other people’s privacy. As a woman in a responsible position, your comments and accusations against our family are completely irrelevant and false. I request you to withdraw your comments immediately,” he said in a post on X.

Mr. Akkineni’s wife, actor Amala Akkineni, also condemned the Minister’s remarks, saying that she was “preying on decent citizens as fuel for a political war”.

“Shocked to hear a woman minister turn into a demon, conjuring evil fictions allegations, preying on decent citizens as fuel for a political war. Madam Minister, do you rely and believe people with no decency to feed you utterly scandalous stories about my husband without an iota of shame or truth? This is really shameful. If leaders lower themselves into the gutter and behave like criminals, what will happen to our country?” she wrote on X.

BRS leader Harish Rao also took to X and demanded an apology from the Minister.

“I condemn the derogatory statements made by Minister Konda Surekha Garu and demand an unconditional apology,” Mr. Rao said.

BRS MLC and former Minister Satyavathi Rathod condemned the comments of Minister Konda Surekha on KTR.

She said, “We condemn the comments of Minister Konda Surekha on KTR. Sadly, she talks in a way that affects and saddens the families of all the actresses in the cinema industry. This is not right. We warn that they should let go of the habit of defaming others when their graph falls. We will file a defamation case on this. Being a women minister, they should support and stand with women instead of making this kind of comment.”

(With inputs from ANI)

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