Pearle Maaney loses 300,000 Instagram followers over post on student protests

Indian actress, television presenter and former Bigg Boss Malayalam contestant Pearle Maaney has come under intense criticism over a social media post about the recent student protests in India, triggering a sharp decline in her online following across Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

According to the latest figures, Maaney has lost more than 300,000 Instagram followers within just two days of the controversy.

Before July 24, her Instagram account had around 2.7 million followers. That number has since dropped to approximately 2.4 million. Her Facebook and YouTube accounts have also recorded a decline in followers and subscribers over the same period.

On July 24, Maaney shared a lengthy post about the student protests, describing scenes from the demonstrations as "heartbreaking".

She said her only prayer was that no one would be injured and that everyone would remain safe. She also urged protesters to return home if their lives were at risk and expressed concern that the demonstrations should not take an undesirable turn.

However, controversy intensified after she captioned the post: "My comment section is a reflection of my freedom of speech." Despite that statement, she disabled comments on the post, prompting accusations of hypocrisy. Critics argued that while invoking freedom of speech, she had prevented others from expressing their opinions, fuelling further backlash on social media.

Unable to comment on the original post, many users turned to Maaney's older posts to voice their criticism. Some labelled her "privileged" and claimed she was out of touch with the realities and struggles faced by ordinary students.

The backlash has also affected her social media popularity, with follower counts continuing to decline not only on Instagram but also on Facebook and YouTube.