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Saboor Aly speaks up after 'window cleaner' joke with colleague gets slammed for classism

Saboor Aly speaks up after 'window cleaner' joke with colleague gets slammed for classism

Saboor and her co-star Saheefa Jabbar have been criticised for apparently mocking a window cleaner's job in a BTS video
Updated 12 May, 2019

A video in which actors Saboor Aly and Saheefa Jabbar Khattak appear to be making fun of a window cleaner's job has gone viral, with fans criticising the actors for their mockery of manual labour.

In the video that was uploaded on Saboor's insta stories, Saheefa and Saboor are heard laughingly saying of a man wiping a window pane clean: "Kya kya khwab leke iss ki maa ne is ko ghar se bejha tha", which loosely translates to "His mother must have had big dreams when she sent him to work."

Their co-star Affan Waheed also appears in the video but does not participate in the mockery and instead emphasises that the man is working hard.

Both actors have been criticised for their derogatory words about manual labourers.

Since the backlash, Saboor has clarified on Instagram that the man was actually their TV drama's assistant director with whom they frequently joke around.

She also attempted to justify the 'joke': "No where have we called him a window cleaner or made fun of any specific profession. What was an inside joke with an individual, has been portrayed as an insult of the profession which was never the intention nor a fact even in the content that's still on my social media. Frankly these are just not the values I have been brought up with."

Addressing her critics, she said, "All I will humbly say in the end is - next time you point your finger on someone's actions or words - especially when you are looking at them in isolation and not the whole picture - think and be responsible. Don't just do it for the followers, likes, and engagement."

For her part, Saheefa seemed to think responding to the controversy is a lost cause. "I'll fail, I'll miserably fail, but I won't be able to clear the air and explain my side out," she wrote on her Instagram.

Some have defended Saboor, like graphic artist Sanki King who left the following comment on her Instagram: "It’s pretty evident from the video that you guys were cracking harmless jokes. I think our society is riding the bandwagon of this new trend of finding excuses to bash successful people."

In the evening, both actors issued a video apology, in which they acknowledged that their joke was inappropriate for any circumstance:

The video also featured Ehsaan Sheikh, the assistant director to whom the joke was directed towards.

Comments

Huma May 11, 2019 10:38am
Well, if it was an inside joke then it should not have been posted on social media. If you can't differentiate between what content should be considered as a joke or not, then you should not joke at all.
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Pakistani May 11, 2019 01:27pm
Disgusting behaviour from her. Some people cannot handle stardom.
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aslam khan May 11, 2019 01:30pm
People in this country lack sensitivities.
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Saad May 11, 2019 02:06pm
Feel so bad to see educated people making such jokes but it’s not entirely their fault. This represents our society and our thinking pattern. They are just stitch of a same cloth. We do have a few exceptions but generally our society comprises of more hypocrites. And all the people coming out on social media bashing these women, half of them would behave in a similar manner in real, they are just paper warriors who tend show how pious they are
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HashBrown® May 11, 2019 03:39pm
I agree that it probably didn't need to go up on social media, but frankly this is the kind of banter that friends have with each other all the time. Definitely not a reason to jump on the morality bandwagon.
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Zainab May 11, 2019 04:07pm
Bad joke and should apologize
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Jammer May 11, 2019 04:48pm
Self-righteous celebrities are not the moral compass of this country. Audience should stop putting these self-serving beings on a pedestal.
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NewBorn May 11, 2019 07:00pm
They just want attention, which is what they got out of all this.
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My Opinion May 11, 2019 07:15pm
Shame on them, window cleaners are hard working people they clean windows on building that are 50 stories plus and get good money they are working and are not begging. The girls have given a very immature statement. They should know that there was a time when even acting was considered a corrupt profession and many families discouraged their children to get into it.
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Aliza Mir May 12, 2019 03:29am
This is amazing to see how people canHave fun at somebody's else expense.. to let somebody feel oneself a laughing stock and unaccepted is not entertainment its the worst form of bullying... its dreadful..
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Zeeshan Ahmed May 12, 2019 04:06am
Shame on these empty souls who never pondered to think that maybe he did not have the same opportunities as they did.
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Basharat Qamar May 12, 2019 04:20am
Unfortunately, we are trapped in class system. There is no respect for work in our society. Majority of kids never do any work throughout their life and make fun of those who work hard to earn their living. Parents keep on paying for their education, marriage, even find a job for them and the life goes on---
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Basharat Qamar May 12, 2019 04:21am
if its a joke then its very cheap joke and it reflect their mentality.
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Bashir George May 12, 2019 09:30am
That's very inappropriate joke.
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Jammer May 12, 2019 08:16pm
The problem is not that they made an appropriate joke public. The problem is that we hold these privileged celebrities as our moral leaders somehow.
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Aisha May 13, 2019 12:57am
My humble request to PEMRA is to ban the duo with naming as well as shaming them in the order mentioned and carried out.
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A true pakistani May 13, 2019 10:41am
I guess saboor is trying to hide her inferiority complex ....bibi apna past bhol gaye ho??
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Zafar ul Hassan May 13, 2019 12:13pm
Funny thing is the guy who was being joked at is asked to give explanation defending these so-called stars. They didn't have the guts to say sorry to him in front of the camera. Probably the poor guy is thinking about his job. Conclusion of the video. Jo Zalim wohee Mazloom/
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