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There’s messy television, and then there’s whatever just went down on an Eid transmission that was meant to be light, festive, and, at the very least, harmless.

On Piyari Eid with Javeria Saud, a segment that should have been an easy crowd-pleaser — celebrities guessing who’s who from childhood photos — spiralled into something uncomfortable. Pictures of many young stars were featured, including Mahira Khan, Iqra Aziz, Sajal Aly and Atif Aslam, including one picture that host Javeria Saud claimed was a childhood photo of Yumna Zaidi.

Except, it wasn’t.

As guests, including Yasir Hussain, Nausheen Shah and others, struggled to guess who the child in the photo was, Saud offered vague hints. When pressed further, she described the person as being among people who had been “working since the Stone Age” but had only recently received recognition, before breaking into laughter. A few guests joined in.

It might have passed as an ill-timed joke if the premise itself wasn’t already flawed. The confusion wasn’t because the guests were out of touch, it was because the image wasn’t of Zaidi to begin with. When Shah finally guessed it might be her, Saud confirmed it, doubling down, laughter and all.

Zaidi, understandably, did not find it funny.

Taking to Instagram, she set the record straight with restraint. “This is not my childhood picture,” she wrote, calling it “identity based disinformation” and reminding channels gently that information should be verified before being aired on national television.

But her fellow industry mates, weren’t ready to let another case of sloppy programming topped with crass humour slide.

Maya Ali, in a story that quickly made rounds on social media, questioned why the industry continues to undermine its own without naming names. “When will we start respecting our own talent?” she wrote, pointing out the irony of insiders publicly pulling each other down.

Hania Aamir reshared her statement with a simple “what she said!” Actor Nameer Khan echoed the sentiment, calling out the lack of empathy and respect within the industry.

Umair Nasir Ali, who directed Zaidi’s Nayab, stepped in with an actual childhood photo of Zaidi noting, “Respect begins with getting the facts right JS.”

Saud, for her part, issued an apology, acknowledging that the image had been picked up online without proper verification. She maintained, however, that her “Stone Age” remark had been misunderstood and wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.

But here’s the thing about live television and public platforms, intent is only half the story. Delivery is the other half, and in this case, the laughter did the talking.

Because even if we momentarily accept that the comment wasn’t meant to be about age, or about Zaidi in particular, it landed that way. And in an industry where women are already under relentless scrutiny for how long they’ve been around, how they look, and whether they’re still “relevant,” that kind of throwaway line doesn’t exist in a vacuum. And when it’s followed by mocking laughter, it becomes something harder to brush off as harmless banter.

There’s also the more basic, less glamorous problem — the complete lack of homework. A segment built entirely around identifying celebrities hinged on a piece of information that wasn’t even correct. Verification isn’t a high bar, it’s the bare minimum. And yet, time and again, local television manages to trip over it.

What could have been a fun, nostalgic game ended up exposing two persistent issues — how casually disrespect can be packaged as humour, and how little effort sometimes goes into content that reaches millions.

Zaidi handled it with grace. Her peers backed her with clarity. The question is whether the platforms that sparked this will take it as a cue to do better.