Actor Bhumi Pednekar has shared another video addressing the NEET-UG 2026 protest row, but many social media users remain unconvinced. While the actor condemned the rape and death threats allegedly being directed at a young female protester, several Instagram users described the post as “damage control”, saying this should have been her first response.
Sharing the video, Bhumi wrote, “Rape and death threats are unacceptable. Aggression is unacceptable. Let’s stop all this.” In the clip, she said she had seen a video of a young girl from the protest giving an interview and looking visibly broken and shaken.
Bhumi said the girl had been receiving nonstop threats, including rape and death threats, after her video went viral. She added that the threats were not limited to the protester, and that her mother and other family members were also being targeted. Calling it unacceptable, Bhumi said a young girl should not be bullied or made to live in fear simply because others disagree with her opinion.
She also said women already face a great deal of harassment, and added that, as a public figure, she had been through similar experiences herself. She emphasised that siuch abuse can leave a deep and lasting impact on a person’s mental health. She said everyone wants the country to progress, and that the right kind of change can be achieved if people raise the right issues in the right way and with unity.
Internet is not convinced
Bhumi’s latest post also triggered strong reactions online, with several users calling it an attempt at “damage control” following the backlash over her earlier remarks. One user wrote, “Didi, just realised that she might lose her audience but didi, you never had one (sic).” Another commented, “Nice damage control bro.” A third said, “Hope you get cast as Kangana in the Dharmendra Pradhan biopic, kween,” while another wrote, “This one should have been your 1st video. Now it feels like damage control.”
Her new video came after criticism over an earlier post in which she had objected to abusive language being used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In that video, she had said the youth should not speak in that manner, especially about someone holding the highest office in the country. She had also said that such language was not part of the country’s culture and values, and that meaningful change could come only through respectful discussion.
Her remarks led several social media users to accuse her of selective outrage, with some pointing out that she had not supported the student-led CJP protest in Delhi but chose to comment on the behaviour of protesters.
– Ends
