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TV show host Rabia Anum Obaid’s Tuesday walkout from Nida Yasir’s morning show has split the internet and celebrities alike. Her decision to exit due to the presence of Mohsin Abbas Haider, an actor who has been accused of abusing his former wife, was harshly criticised by actor Mishi Khan and defended by fellow actor Mira Sethi.

She took to Twitter and told the Aroosa star that “it’s called a protest” and what Obaid did was not in bad taste.

On Thursday, Sethi tweeted in response to Khan, “What Rabia Anum did was not in ‘bad taste.’ She excused herself from a live show, and refused to share space with a man accused of domestic violence. It’s called protest. And it’s far more powerful than quietly slinking away from the makeup room.”

Khan had called Obaid’s move “cringe”. She said while it’s great to stand up for something one believes in, the way TV show host exited was “not the way to embarrass and humiliate people in a live show.”

“You had ample time to walk out before going live rather this awful move,” she wrote. Shortly after Sethi criticised Khan, the veteran star took to Instagram and said, “Thank you Mira Sethi for your response. I really respect your opinion but I [will] stick to mine that it was in bad taste. You know if someone like that [Haider] has come on a show, someone who you’ve stood up against, you can walk out before and it’s still called a protest.”

Khan added that if a person wishes to protest live on a show then they must do the same for other people as well. “She maintained her silence during Feroze Khan’s time, no tweet, no protest, why? Because she knows him very well or follows him and unfollowed him after people made a lot of noise. This is being very hypocritical that you stand up for someone you barely know and maintain silence for someone you know,” said the 51-year-old actor.

She added that if Obaid wishes to stand up for a cause, be it domestic violence or anything else, then she must call out or perhaps even protest against everyone who has done something wrong. “You cannot humiliate just one person,” she reiterated.

What happened?

During a live telecast of Good Morning Pakistan, Obaid had said, “There are some mistakes that never leave us, and today I’m not going to make that mistake. There’s an issue I’ve taken a stand for which is domestic abuse and I feel like if this minute effort of mine tomorrow saves my daughter or even my friends, then I have to do it.”

The TV show host said she didn’t want to be a part of the show. “I know how responsible you [Nida] are and I love you for that, but I think If today I sit through the entire show, I will not be able to face my friends, my colleagues and all of those girls for whom I might have to take a stand for in the future, for whom I’ve already raised my voice. So, to take care of that I will not be a part of this show, I’m sorry,” Obaid said.

After walking off the show, she called it her “tiny bit to break the cycle of ifs and buts” in hope that “harassers and wife beaters” are never given the chance to be heroes again, someone who never apologised for what they did while the victim is “still struggling mentally, physically and financially” to get back on their feet.“