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A day after alleging BRS leader KTR of playing a role in Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya’s divorce, Congress leader and Telangana Minister Konda Surekha has retracted her statement and has apologised to the actress. On Wednesday, the politician gave a controversial remark in her conversation with the media. Her remark soon went viral on social media, attracting backlash from many including the former couple, their family members as well as KTR.
Naga Chaitanya’s father Nagarjuna has also confirmed that he is mulling legal action against the minister. He told Times Now, “I am in Vizag. I am heading back to Hyderabad for action ahead.” He added that he is considering legal action, “Oh, absolutely! A hundred percent. We can’t let this go. Not at all. I am rushing back with lawyers.”
On Thursday, Konda Surekha took to her X handle to apologise to the actress. She wrote, “My comments are meant to question a leader’s belittling of women and not to hurt your sentiments, Samantha. The way you have grown up with self-power is not only an admiration for me.. but also an ideal.”
She added, “If you or your fans are offended by my comments, I unconditionally retract my comments. Don’t think otherwise.”
On Wednesday, in a video, the politician could be heard saying in Telugu, “The reason behind Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s divorce is none other than KT Rama Rao. He used to drug actresses, take them to rave parties, and tap their phones to find their weaknesses and blackmail them. Everyone in the film industry knows it. Its an open secret.”
After the politician’s statement, Nagarjuna’s second wife Amala Akkineni took to her X handle to slam the politician. She wrote, “Shocked to hear a woman minister turn into a demon, conjuring evil fictions allegations, preying on decent citizens as fuel for a political war.”
She added, “Madam Minister, do you rely and believe people with no decency to feed you utterly scandalous stories about my husband without an iota of shame or truth? This is really shameful.” “If leaders lower themselves into the gutter and behave like criminals, what will happen to our country?”
Amala’s son and Naga Chaitanya’s step-brother Akhil Akkineni backed his mother and called the politician a “Sociopath.”
This was followed by Naga Chaitanya’s reaction, who in a statement on X, claimed, “Taking advantage and exploiting the personal life decisions of celebrities for the sake of media headlines is shameful.” Samantha too reacted strongly to Konda Surekha’s remarks and warned her: “Keep my name out”. She added, “My divorce is a personal matter, and I request that you refrain from speculating about it. Our choice to keep things private doesn’t invite misrepresentation.”
Samantha said in a social media post directly addressing the politician, “Konda Surekha Garu, I am proud of what this journey turned me into please don’t trivialise it. I hope you realise that your words carry significant weight as a minister. I implore you to be responsible and respectful of individuals’ privacy. My divorce is a personal matter, and I request that you refrain from speculating about it. Our choice to keep things private doesn’t invite misrepresentation. To clarify: my divorce was mutual consent and amicable, with no political conspiracy involved.”
KTR too reacted to the statement and served a legal notice to the politician. He also requested Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to send Konda Surekha to a “mental health specialist or a rehabilitation therapist.”
Nagarjuna, in his reaction, requested the Congress leader to withdraw her comments immediately.
The reactions didn’t limit to the Akkineni family, but Surekha’s remarks angered several other celebrities including Jr NTR, Nani, Chinmayi Sripaada, and Prakash Raj.
Jr NTR, in his statement, expressed his angery and said, “We will not sit quietly while others make baseless allegations against us.” Nani wrote, “Disgusting to see politicians thinking that they can get away talking any kind of nonsense.” Chinmayi called it “truly horrifying” for how multiple individuals have been using Samantha’s name for their own mileage. Veteran actor Prakash Raj, who is also a politician, questioned Konda Surekha’s mindset in his post on X.
Actor Nani wrote on X, “When your words can be so irresponsible it’s stupid of us to expect that you will have any responsibility for your people. It’s not just about actors or cinema. This is not abt any political party. It is not okay for someone in such a respectable position to talk such utter baseless rubbish in front of media and think that it is okay.”
Allu Arjun wrote, “I strongly condemn the baseless derogatory comments made about film personalities and film families. This behavior 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.”
“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,” wrote Chiranjeevi.
Actors Sudheer Babu, and Varun Tej Konidela too criticised the politician’s comments, calling it “misogynistic” and “unnecessary”.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya tied the knot in 2017 in Goa. However, four years later, they announced their separation in a joint Instagram post for reasons best to known to them.
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