Indian actress Sara Ali Khan has made a splash for all the wrong reasons. In a video which has now gone viral on social media, a giggling, bikini-clad Sara can be seen pushing her fully-clothed spot girl into a pool, leading many to point out the inherent elitism and imbalance of power in the so-called prank.
Sara initially posted the video after a fan asked her to share the ‘best prank’ she’d ever pulled off. However, many on social media did not find the joke funny, as surly being pushed into the water is not part of her domestic employee’s job description.
“Don’t ever do this to anybody in their workplace,” remarked one fan, while others called the joke a form of ‘workplace harassment’ and an ’employer bullying her employee.’
Don't do this to anybody at their workplace. https://t.co/LP5SkN6dq8
— Sayantan Ghosh (@sayantansunnyg) February 4, 2022
Workplace harassment also looks like this. https://t.co/1g0uGy9WPg
— Alisha Gonsalves (@alishaag_) February 4, 2022
Such a horrible thing to do. What a terrible brat she is. https://t.co/3jfq1x8LYE
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) February 4, 2022
This is not coolđ
I can see an employer bullying her employee. https://t.co/poaE3IcFhr— Devikaa (@devikaamathur) February 4, 2022
I wonder how Sara would have reacted had she been at the receiving end.
It is easy for the powerful to play âpranksâ. https://t.co/y2JWGnJLpN
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) February 4, 2022
The ‘joke’ is reminiscent of the now infamous incident at Cannoli restaurant in Islamabad, when the restaurant’s owner filmed herself making fun at her front-of-house staff for not speaking English well. Following that video too, netizens pointed out how elitist it was to make fun of someone for not speaking English, especially given the subcontinents history’s under English colonialism.
There are many documented incidents of domestic help suffering abuse and worse from their employers. It seems South Asia’s elites have not learned that making fun of your employees or domestic help is never funny.
