‘Life’s been kinda cruel to me lately’: Chinmayi backs Arjun Kapoor, calls out online bullying

Singer and activist Chinmayi Sripaada has come out strongly against online bullying, extending support to actor Arjun Kapoor after he faced sustained trolling following an emotional social media post remembering his late mother, Mona Shourie Kapoor.

Chinmayi shared a post on X that criticised the relentless targeting of Kapoor across social media platforms. Reposting the message, she wrote bluntly, “These men are trash,” drawing attention to what she described as normalised cruelty masquerading as humour.

The original post highlighted that Kapoor was not mocked on a single occasion but repeatedly trolled under “every single post,” with comments attacking his work, failures and even his existence. It described such behaviour as “emotional illiteracy and performative cruelty,” warning that public bullying often leads to tragic consequences.

“You cannot bully people publicly for months and then pretend you care when it is too late,” the post stated, adding that when something serious happens, blame is often shifted to women around the individual rather than those who fuelled the harassment.

The discussion gained momentum after Kapoor shared a heartfelt note on the birth anniversary of his mother, reflecting on the challenges he has faced in recent times. “Life’s been kinda cruel to me lately but it’s ok… I’ve taken the punches before, I’ll take ’em again and still rise,” the actor wrote, crediting his mother for teaching him resilience, grace and dignity in the face of adversity.

Chinmayi’s intervention has sparked a wider conversation within the film industry and among social media users about accountability, empathy and the impact of sustained online trolling on mental health, especially for public figures.