‘They came from a womb’: Richa Chadha hails Salman Khan for speaking against body-shaming - The Indian Express

During the Bigg Boss 20 Weekend Ka Vaar episode, superstar host Salman Khan spoke out against the culture of trolling and body-shaming, particularly the way women are targeted for their postpartum weight. While Salman did not directly take Katrina Kaif’s name, his comments came days after the actor faced ruthless trolling following her appearance at the Ambani family’s Ganpati celebrations.

Richa Chadha, who welcomed her first child in 2024, and is awaiting the release of her non-fiction project, Musafiri, has now praised Salman for addressing the issue. Speaking to News18, Richa said she was unaware of Salman’s comments until she was told about them. “I didn’t know he spoke about it but it’s great! It’s a magnanimous thing to do. One shouldn’t pay heed. Poor men are so limited in their thinking capacities and they’ll never have the profound experience of giving birth.”

Richa, who has often spoken openly about body image and the pressure placed on women, went on to question men who troll women over their appearance. “They (men) cannot exist without us. All of them came from a womb. In the natural order of things, if you start to make fun of mothers, it backfires very badly. Every single individual, who sat with a stupid paunch and a receding hairline and made comments on women’s bodies, is unhappy with their own body,” she said.

Salman had addressed the issue during the Bigg Boss 20, Weekend Ka Vaar episode, pointing out how trolls comment on everything from a person’s body and weight to their family and appearance. “You comment on their body, weight, looks, family, and on someone’s smile as well as flaws. You troll someone for becoming a mother. Bhaddi lag rahi hai, moti ho gayi hai, buddha ho gaya hai, (Looking shabby, fat, old) all of this is going on. It’s something dirty that we should not even acknowledge,” Salman said.

He added, “What do you want to troll, and why do you want to troll somebody who got pregnant? Everyone puts on weight after pregnancy. When she resumes filming, she will get back in shape. She wants to spend time with her family.”

Richa has herself faced comments about her postpartum weight. She has previously spoken about developing an eating disorder amid the pressure to maintain a certain body size and fit into industry expectations. She had also called out trolls for targeting Aishwarya Rai Bachchan over her postpartum weight gain.

Salman’s comments received support from several members of the film industry. Varun Dhawan and his father, filmmaker David Dhawan, thanked the actor for speaking about what they described as an issue that has affected the industry. During the episode, Salman had also spoken about Varun and Sohail Khan being trolled for their smile and  appearance respectively.

Neha Dhupia, who is a mother of two, reacted to Salman’s comments with a simple, “Tiger Zinda Hai.”

@BeingSalmanKhan respect ✊ you Made the most important points on social media etiquette, behaviour, trolls & paps and the people who follow n encourage such behaviour. Aur jab bhai bolta hai toh uske baad koi nahin bol sakta. pic.twitter.com/v85uyRIskD

Filmmaker Kunal Kohli was among others who thanked Salman for speaking about the issue, with several industry members joining the conversation around online trolling and body-shaming.