‘While most people have alarm clocks, I get to wake up every morning to “gay ma*****od, good morning”‘
The Bollywood producer/director Karan Johar writes an open letter to his Twitter trolls, that is, people on social media who direct completely unwarranted negative comments at him.
In an op-ed for NDTV, KJ wrote about how he was one of the first from Bollywood to have joined Twitter, and eventually his fans’ adulation was diluted by comments of a spiteful kind.
“But then started the phase where I began to wake up to “gay ma*****od, good morning”.
Every morning. Or just “hi gay”. I am routinely called “chakka”. Every so often, I’m told I’m a transsexual/transvestite/sister-shagging homosexual, which is actually, if you think about it, a contradiction in terms.”
My therapist says I should write it out, so Dear Troller, here’s what am I saying to you
KJ’s letter to the troller
You’re probably as unattractive as you seem to think me. You probably hate my selfies, because you don’t love what you see in your’s. You obviously have no job! And your solution to life’s frustrations is to take it out on me (and a few unlucky others). And now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, I want to tell you that you don’t actually disturb me any more. What would disturb me was if I allowed you the smallest amount of influence over my life. “
What you don’t realise is that with a certain level of fame and celebrity come deep levels of insecurity and anxiety which none of you accounts for. Everyone thinks I land in a chopper on top of my building and I have the most cushy existence. Could you understand that I might have the most messed up life myself? That I am probably in bed lonely most nights, sometimes even crying myself to sleep. I acknowledge that I am materially privileged, but I am not emotionally privileged. There are reasons for me to be lonely and sad on most days and I am probably as sad as you, the troller.