Can we leave Ghana Ali's husband and his weight alone?
When actor Ghana Ali answered questions from her fans on social media, it became pretty obvious that people wanted to know about her husband. As the questions poured in, it didn't take too long before all the interest became downright obsessive and intrusive.
Ali, who has worked in television serials such as Saraab and Sangdil, recently took to Instagram and asked fans to send in any questions they wanted her to address. The actor received quite the list apparently. While a few questions were about her work, hobbies and aspirations, the majority were about her husband.
Ali announced her marriage to her followers back in May. She's regularly taken to social media to post a picture of herself with her partner ever since.
Some of the questions that the actor received were innocent enough.
One person asked what the actor's life was like after marriage. "Alhumdulillah amazing!" Ali replied. "Of course you go through massive changes and sharing your personal space with someone can always be a challenge, but I am happy to find someone who has an amazing sense of humour, so it's wonderful."
Another asked Ali when she met her husband for the first time. "Almost two years back," she answered. "[O]n a shooting range."
Things took a sharp downturn when the questions became increasingly uncomfortable and personal. One person asked the actor about her husband's profession. Ali bounced this concern with a vague reply that didn't disclose much.
Strangely, someone asked Ali whether her husband was strict or not. Ali's reply to this was again, understandably abstract.
"Have you only had your nikkah or have you had your rukhsati as well?" a question asked.
While these curiosities are somewhat digestible, the question that really crossed the line was in relation to the husband's weight. "Do you tell you husband to lose weight?" someone asked. "No I find him cute like this" Ali replied. "I don't want him to lose weight."
We've got to hand it to the actor, she answered this question with a lot of grace and professionalism, although she had every right to lose her cool. Her husband's weight, or anyone's weight for the matter of fact, is no one's concern.
Questions about someone's weight can be traumatising for those who emotionally and physically struggle with how their bodies look. People can also choose to be at any weight they like and accept themselves for how they are, a choice that doesn't have to explained or justified to anyone.
This is not the first time that Ali has received such intrusive remarks about her husband's appearance. The actor had to defend her husband's choice of clothes in a recent Instagram post as well.
"My husband likes to wear black and in his closet you’ll mostly find black! Ali stated. "If u guys have an issue with it, simply unfollow! I can’t be asked to listen to anybody’s crap or reply to it."
While some curiosity about a celebrity's personal life is expected and sometimes even welcomed by the celebrities themselves, there are some boundaries that fans should never cross. Ali and other celebrities are also entitled to privacy and respect for their families and loved ones.
While the question might have seemed innocent enough to some — do you ask your husband to lose weight? — it implies that her husband should, in fact, lose weight. His weight is none of our business and we shouldn't even be commenting on it. This is body shaming and it's not okay.
Ali's husband isn't a public figure and hasn't chosen to subject himself to the public's curiosity or cattiness. Let's remember that everyone is their own person and it's okay to be comfortable in your own skin. Not everyone has to meet your ideal weight requirements to feel good about themselves.
A good rule of thumb for fans to remember is when you want to comment on someone's personal appearance, especially the family member of a celebrity, just don't do it.