Sometimes fan culture crosses a line into fanaticism and results in very undesirable outcomes. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli’s privacy was invaded by fans who entered his hotel room, made videos of it and shared those videos on social media. He is very uncomfortable with his personal space being disregarded like this and wants to draw a very clear boundary.
On Monday, he posted the fan-made video on his Instagram and wrote, “I understand that fans get very happy and excited seeing their favourite players and get excited to meet them — I’ve always appreciated that. But this video here is appalling and it has made me feel very paranoid about my privacy. If I cannot have privacy in my own hotel room, then where can I really expect any personal space at all?? I’m NOT okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy. Please respect people’s privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment.”
In the video, the intruders pan the camera over Kohli’s shoes and belongings in the room. There are speculations that the video was made by members of the hotel staff as they seemed to be wearing name tags and grey uniforms.
His post was met by concerned friends, family and fans who agreed that this was absolutely not okay. Among those who commented were Australian cricketer David Warner, Kohli’s brother Vikas and Indian actors Arjun Kapoor and Varun Dhawan. They called it “unethical”, “alarming” and “unacceptable”.
Kohli and his wife Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma are big on privacy. They refrain from letting the paparazzi capture their daughter Vamika’s photos and have publicly requested the media to avoid circulating her pictures. Sharma has also gone off at the paparazzi at a previous occasion when she was having breakfast with her husband on their balcony and they were clicked despite asking for privacy.
Actor Hania Aamir has also encountered invasion of her privacy by fans. In May, she revealed that they showed up outside her house and refused to leave until the police was involved. Singer Uzair Jaswal too had fans show up at his door and enter his house, pretending to be friends of his.
Fans have great love for celebrities and think that makes it okay for them to confront them anywhere, anytime. They need to understand that celebrities are also human and need and deserve time off. It is not their job to entertain 24/7 — they have a right over their personal space and time.
Entering their hotel rooms and filming their belongings is absolutely NOT okay!