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Singer Chinmayi Sripaada and actor-politician Khushbu Sundar criticised DMK leader and Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin over his crass and derogatory remark involving actor Trisha during a protest about the Cauvery water dispute. While Chinmayi said women should not be dragged into political battles, Khusbhu demanded an unconditional apology from Udhayanidhi Stalin for targetting Trisha on a public platform.
The controvery made headlines after Udhayanidhi Stalin made a crass remark involving Trisha while criticising Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay‘s silence over the Cauvery water dispute. Many interpreted the comment as a sexual innuendo.
Chinmayi shared a strongly worded note on X, saying politicians should focus on public issues instead of targeting women who have nothing to do with political rivalries. “If men in politics could just focus on actual issues instead of dragging women who have nothing to do with their scheme of things – it would be stellar,” she wrote on X.
Referring to the controversy, she said she initially failed to understand the remark until someone explained its implied meaning to her. “I didn’t understand what the purported underlying meaning of what the LoP of Tamil Nadu said. Someone known to me explained it a while ago. I thought it was about a water connection. Turns out most women didn’t get it. It was a Bro thing,” she wrote.
She further criticised Udhayanidhi for not discouraging the crowd and instead escalating the situation. “The least he could have done was tell his audience to pipe down or tell them to behave better, but he went ahead to say something far worse,” she wrote.
Drawing parallels with the way former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was targeted by political opponents in the past, Chinmayi said she had expected younger leaders to set a better example. “The older generation’s profanity was normalised… but someone in the younger generation is expected to be better, not profanely worse. What a disappointment. Women are not outraged enough — in rage and in solidarity,” she concluded.
Khushbu demands apology for Trisha
Actor and BJP leader Khushbu Sundar also condemned Udhayanidhi’s remarks, describing them as “crass, cheap and deeply derogatory.” “Heard Udhayanidhi Stalin‘s speech. It was crass, cheap and deeply derogatory; reflecting the very political culture he seems eager to inherit,” she wrote.
Khushbu said political differences should never justify insulting women and warned against normalising such language in public life. “Those who normalize such language should remember that once the dignity of women is made a political casualty, no family (including your own) is immune from the same treatment. Public discourse must have boundaries, regardless of political differences. Women need to be respected and not treated as a pawn to play to your whims and fancies,” she said.
She also demanded an unconditional apology from Udhayanidhi to Trisha. “The Leader of the Opposition owes Trisha an unconditional public apology for insulting her on a public platform. Let’s see if he can own up to his actions and has the courage and decency to apologise,” she added.
What sparked the controversy?
The controversy erupted after a video from a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) protest about the Cauvery water dispute in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur went viral. While criticising Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over the Cauvery river issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Udhayanidhi was interrupted by members of the crowd chanting “Trisha, Trisha.”
Responding to the slogans, he made a derogatory remark before smiling and adding that he was referring to the Cauvery. Critics, however, interpreted the comment as a double entendre directed at Trisha amid long-running social media speculation linking the actor with Vijay.
The remark has since triggered widespread criticism on social media, with several public figures accusing Udhayanidhi of dragging a woman into a political attack unrelated to her.
– Ends
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