Celebrities having their opinions and the people having opinions about those opinions is just the way social media functions. In the past few days, there have been a couple of incidents where the folks over on multiple platforms of social media got busy either supporting or bashing celebrities for something they said. The latest celebrity to join this list is Ghana Ali.

There is a video going viral where the actress Ghana Ali has talked about her physical transformation. The video, which is a short clip from Ghana’s appearance on a Ramzan transmission program, shows her talking about having gone through cosmetic surgery as well as using the controversial diet pills for weight loss. Naturally, this started a hue and cry on the social media and Ghana started getting bashed for talking about these issues on national television and spreading a negative message to the audience.

What all went down?

Ghana was asked by the host of the program, Amir Liaquat, about why she chose to have cosmetic surgery. To which Ghana unabashedly replied that she didn’t like the way her nose looked on her face so she got it altered. The conversation then went to the topic of Ghana’s dramatic transformation due to her weight loss and Ghana confessed to having resorted to strict dieting as well as using weight loss pills to achieve the look. You can watch the clip here. 

“I took a lot of weight loss pills. Some suited me, some didn’t. The ones which suited me made me lose weight. I am still alive despite using those pills, let’s see what happens in the future.” Ghana is shown saying cheekily.

The case of social media backlash

The reaction to Ghana’s confession has been negative as was suspected. It did not go down well with people that Ghana was talking about these things so openly when the norm is to always be hush-hush about these kinds of topics. She got bashed for putting up a wrong example for the people because she endorsed highly controversial topics like cosmetic surgery and weight loss pills unapologetically. Ghana, however, remains unphased.

“To be honest I don’t care,” Ghana told Galaxy Lollywood in an exclusive quote. “80% of the reaction to this has been positive and the remaining people are just using this to get attention for themselves. But it doesn’t affect me. My confidence and self-worth can’t be shaken by these negative comments.”

Ghana defended her cosmetic surgery by saying if it was such a bad thing then why do these surgeons even exist in the country in the first place? Going under the knife is a common thing around the world. She talked about getting positive messages from her fans from all over, praising her for her straightforwardness. Ghana also said she has no qualms in sharing information about her surgery and weight loss pills to those who are curious about her methods because she feels it can help people.

“If someone doesn’t like something about their body and they have an option to get it changed, why shouldn’t they? People have to face different kind of problems and rejections due to how they look; if a good surgery can help them avoid those problems then what’s the harm in that? I completely stand by my decisions.”

Ghana Ali speaks the truth – is it okay to bash her?

In a society where looks matter so much that they can dictate a person’s ultimate failure and success, Ghana says she is giving confidence to the people who are unhappy with how they look. “I am sure there must be many people who would be sending me positive prayers for talking about these things. By talking about my own experience, I am just giving the people the confidence to do what they wish to do but are too scared to pursue.”

The entertainment industry is obsessed with good looks; it is a fact. Celebrities are known to going under the knife to change the way they look, even if they don’t talk about it. Many “Before and After” pictures of various celebrities can be found on the internet which serve as proof of their reliance on cosmetic surgery to attain the “perfect good looks” that make them so desirable for the common people. So, why is there such outrage for Ghana Ali for speaking about this topic that we all know is the truth?

Thankfully, the recent wave of awareness being spread by celebrities to reject this false image of perfection and promoting body positivity is a step in the right direction. However, we cannot deny the fact that for many of the people the pressure of looking a certain way is just too much. A society that is quick to pass comments on someone’s appearance especially their weight and physical features does not get to be enraged that someone chose to alter their appearance via controversial methods. That is just hypocrisy. And for any real, long-lasting change to happen regarding how people perceive beauty, this hypocrisy has to be eradicated.

Sadly, that will take a long time to happen. Till then, more power to Ghana Ali for not acting like a hypocrite and saying it like it is. If more celebrities in the industry spoke honestly about these issues and their experiences, it would only help in erasing the impossible to attain beauty standards that the industry have spent decades in conditioning the common people into perceiving as perfection.