Allu Arjun posted a statement on social media condemning Telangana leader Konda Surekha’s recent controversial statement on Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya’s divorce. Several other celebrities, including Chiranjeevi, Sudheer Babu, Lakshmi Manchu, and others, have also spoken up. 

Allu Arjun on Samantha’s divorce row

Arjun captioned his statement, “#FilmIndustryWillNotTolerate,” reflecting the hashtag used by his uncle, actor Chiranjeevi. His statement reads, “I strongly condemn the baseless derogatory comments made about film personalities and film families. This behaviour is deeply disrespectful and goes against the values of our Telugu culture. Such irresponsible actions should not be accepted as normal. I urge the parties involved to act more responsibly and respect individual privacy, especially towards women. We must promote respect and dignity in society as a whole.”

Chiranjeevi had also used the hashtag while sharing his statement on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “It is a shame that celebs and members of film fraternity become soft targets as they provide instant reach and attention. We as Film Industry stand united in opposing such vicious verbal assaults on our members,” adding, “No one should stoop to this level for scoring political points by dragging unconnected people and more so women into their political slug fest and make distasteful fictional allegations.”

Sudheer called Surekha’s statement ‘appalling’, writing, “Our fraternity won't be intimidated or bullied by your cheap tactics. You're not just insulting women, you're disrespecting the entire industry that brings pride to Telangana. It's time to shift focus from gossip to governance.” Lakshmi’s statement points out about how actors are ‘expected to stay silent’ because they ‘live in glasshouses’ She added, “The pain cuts deeper when this comes from a woman. Have some respect for those who dedicate their lives to entertain, not to be used for political games. This stings, and it’s deeply unfair.”

What happened

Surekha alleged on Wednesday that BRS party leader KT Rama Rao (KTR) used to tap the phones of female actors and blackmail them. “It is KT Rama Rao because of whom 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,” she said, according to ANI.

After receiving backlash, she clarified on X that her intention was to point out how KTR allegedly demeans women and not to malign Samantha’s image. She wrote in Telugu, “My intention was only to point out how a leader is belittling towards woman but not to hurt your sentiments, Samantha. The way you have grown exponentially by yourself is something I admire and aspire to. If you or your fans have been hurt by my words, I unconditionally retract them. Please do not take it otherwise.”

Her statement comes after Samantha, Chaitanya, Nagarjuna, Amala Akkineni, Akhil Akkineni, Jr NTR, Nani, Khushbu Sundar and others called her out on her statement. According to ANI, KTR sent a defamation notice to Surekha. In the legal notice, KTR stated that Surekha made the comments to "tarnish" his image, and demanded an immediate withdrawal of the statements made.

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