Kangana Ranaut faces backlash as she calls Gen Z 'Generation Gutter'

Bollywood actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut kicked up a row with her social media speech against those who took part in the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protests, calling Gen Z “generation gutter” and their videos from the agitation “puke-inducing”.

Her remarks came days after the 36-day agitation, led by the CJP along with students and civil society groups, ended on July 25 after the government accepted the protesters’ key demands, including the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

On July 27, she took to her Instagram handle and described videos of protestors at Jantar Mantar as a display of “filth, garbage and ugliness”. She continued with her statement, “Never in my life have I seen so much ugliness in one place. These reels from GenZ protests are puke-inducing. The way they speak and the kind of language they are using; never in my life have I seen everything in every frame so jarring and so crass all at once, ewwww who is birthing and raising them?”

She added, “India is a place of diversely beautiful people, draped in elegance and rooted in cultural sophistication. You call yourself cockroaches and look/ behave like them as well; there is no paradox or juxtaposition there, just simply subjecting the world to your filth, garbage and ugliness. I am scarred from these reels, need some healing, digital detox”.

In another post, the actor aimed at young women participating in the protests, saying their behaviour during the agitation was “most appalling”. “Truly independent women make rebellious choices, bold opinions, unconventional career moves and they take accountability for their actions. They have to cos they are on their own. They don’t do this at the cost of their parents or families,” she added. “Here is a new generation of so-called westernized Indian women. I call them Generation gutter,” she said.

     Read More:What is Jantar Mantar in India? Why It has become the center of CJP’s protest

Ms. Ranaut said some of the women protestors were “so ugly and corrupt that they can’t be homemakers either”. “They proudly flaunt their freedom to have drugs, drinks or endless body counts and shamelessly live off their parents’ earnings and constantly fight to live independent lives without actually being independent.

“Gentle reminder: independent life needs to be earned. If you try to live independently without accountability, you are just a distorted entity, gutter chaap,” she added.

In her latest post on Tuesday, Ms. Ranaut defended those who have confronted protesters over their social media content, saying criticism and backlash were inevitable consequences of their actions.

“Protesters who are getting beaten and abused on the roads by ordinary people because of their filthy and abusive reels must understand that if you speak, you also have to be prepared to listen. If you damage public property, then the public will damage you too.

“If you have a problem with the country and its leadership and have publicly hurled filthy abuses at them, then now listen to those who love this country and brought this government to power through their votes. Because they also have the right to speak,” she wrote.

Quoting Newton’s third law of motion, the actor added, “Every action has equal and opposite reaction. If studying hasn’t helped you understand cause and effect, now you will understand it very well.”Ms. Ranaut’s statements went viral on social media, with many criticising the actor for her “crass comments”.

Congress leaders Renuka Chowdhury and Imran Pratapgarhi slammed the language she used to describe the young. “It is unfortunate that a woman writes such things for getting praise from the government. When as an MP, you write such things, then I can only say that they are learning all this from you only. I think she will have to face consequences soon enough,” Ms. Chowdhury told a television channel.

Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi told reporters, “I think her reply will be given to her by the country’s Gen Z…”. One social media user referred to Ms. Ranaut’s past statements about Shaheen Bagh protests and actor Urmila Matondkar to point out that she had used derogatory language in the past.

“Kangana Ranaut posted this story, criticizing the language used in student protests. This is the same person who branded Urmila Matondkar a ‘soft porn star’ and mocked elderly women at the Farmers’ and Shaheen Bagh protests by claiming they were available to join for 100,” the user said.

Another X user called her a hypocrite. “For someone who talks a whole lot of nothing and picks a non-issue every other month to bully others… She sure has a lot of opinions on young students taking a stand for their own rights. The kind of language BJP/RSS use on a daily… I think she’d find the Gen Z’s terminology very tame as opposed to the party she belongs to,” the person posted.

A user said Ms. Ranaut’s comments were “weapons-grade cringe”. “How do you go from being a woman in power to using your platform to spew bitter 14 yr old incel level toxicity at women online? Bricks for brains, honestly,” she said.