‘Glorification of trolls has added crazy pressure on entertainers’

She’s one of the most followed celebrities in the world, especially on social media. Having made an impact in both Bollywood and Hollywood, Priyanka Chopra has always marched to her own tune. In a recent conversation, the actress says glorification of trolling has added “crazy pressure” on entertainers. She feels the increasing prevalence of trolling culture will only lead to bullying and depression.

Speaking about the pressure of being a global star, the Quantico actress says, “First of all, the pressure comes from people’s opinion and how in today’s age everyone’s opinion becomes news. Most of the time, I see media writing about someone getting trolled for this or that. I have never understood how somebody’s opinion becomes news. How the media gives such credence to maybe 500, 600 or 1000 people writing behind the anonymity of the computer.” Priyanka also adds, “Those are the pressures that are not even created by us or the fans. It is just created by the one thing — which is the internet. It has has made people’s job easier... You can make a story out of anybody’s comment. Glorification of trolls has added crazy pressure on entertainers.”


The actress has come back to India for her brother Siddharth Chopra’s roka ceremony, which took place in Delhi recently. Right now she’s in Mumbai for professional commitments. And, speaking about the demanding lifestyle of a celebrity, she says, “There is something called living your life according to the social responsibility that you feel as an individual and then there is something else — living your life according to how everybody else wants to you to live. That is not the world we should live in.” Priyanka has also faced the wrath of social media for myriad subjects like her dressing style, using firecrackers at her wedding last year or even for taking her husband and singer Nick Jonas’ last name.

She points out a serious implication that comes out of the trolling culture, as she explains, “Our children should not be thought that people’s opinions are that important... When they get bullied in school or when they get bullied as teenagers because of the comments written on Instagram, it can lead them to depression or taking harsh decisions in their lives. It is being propagated by these stories where we give so much importance to the way we look on Instagram or what we talk about on Twitter or what our image is.”

Talking about her own journey, she says, “I have not lived my life according to somebody else. I have walked to the beat of my own drum, but I am very cognizant of somebody’s feelings as a public person.”