6 times Hamza Ali Abbasi created unnecessary Twitter controversies
Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, passed away on Tuesday after prolonged battle with cancer in London. While everyone expressed their condolences to the grieving family, Hamza also expressed his support to the Sharifs. Well, kind of.
In a series of tweets, after grieving the loss of former first lady, the actor went on to add that he found it "absolutely disgusting how some people are using Kulsoom Bibi's death to gain sympathy for Nawaz and Maryam and trying to portray them as tragic heroes." He called it, "Shameful... Utterly shameful and disgusting."
He didn't just stop there."Yes, I tweeted this before elections and I stand by it. It's disgusting to use your wife's illness in PAID ad election campaigns to gain sympathy," the Mann Mayal actor stated. "Sorry for sounding insensitive at a time of grief for the Sharif family but propaganda against me on my tweet by PMLN is disgusting!"
Hamza then added, "Again, I am sorry for sounding insensitive at this moment of grief but I have the right to defend myself when I see my old tweet being misused. I see myself bashed and insulted unprovoked on N-league social media pages."
As expected, he ended up getting ample backlash for his posts.
Dear, Hamza. Ever pondered now might not be the best time to throw shade at PMLN? This isn't the first time the 35-year-old has landed himself in unwanted controversies. Here are five more times the actor drew ire for his comments.
1. The infamous remarks on item numbers:
Not one but on numerous occasions, the Parwaaz Hai Junoon star has maintained that item numbers are unnecessary in the Pakistani film industry.
Last year, Hamza's thoughts on how 'shameful' bold songs were in any Pakistani movie stirred a lot of emotions. "How can the censor board allow such filth to run in our cinemas? The actor has written on Twitter and of course, it wasn't received well.
2. When Abbasi admired Hafiz Saeed:
The actor stirred a fresh storm by praising a terror watch suspect a few months ago. “US/India say he is a terrorist; I know Hafiz Saeed as a righteous man,” Hamza said, adding, “Huge respect for Milli Muslim League for getting 4k+ votes.”
The actor then seemed to substantiate his support for the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief, saying, “Hafiz Saeed has done great work against Takfeer and Sectarianism, social work for non Muslims of Pakistan and is a mentor to Kashmiris.”
3. Reham Khan's autobiography controversy:
When Jemima Goldsmith threatened a lawsuit against PM Imran Khan's former wife, Reham Khan in regards to her autobiography, Hamza responded, “In a world full of Gulalies and Rehams… Be like Jemima Khan.”
Soon after, Mahira Khan called out her fellow actor and responded, “How about – just be like Jemima Khan. Period. Sets a pretty good example for men and women both.”
Well, how about that! The Bol actor’s stance on Hamza’s thoughts is apt and respectful.
4. When he just had to say something, anything on Ali-Meesha fiasco:
The Parwaaz Hai Junoon actor wrote, “With this entire #MeToo global epidemic on the rise, I am beginning to realise that Islam was right all along when it ordained gap between the two genders. So called modernism has brought us to a point where the line between flirting and harassment is insanely blurred.”
Many found his thoughts extremely confusing.
5. When he just had to question Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali's faith:
When Mahershala Ali bagged a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Moonlight (2016) and became the first Muslim actor to do so, many debated over whether or not he qualifies as a Muslim. Hamza, however, has come yo his rescue. Sort of.
"Congratulations, Mahershala Ali, for winning as Oscar! I highly disagree with your Ahmadi religion and my countrymen think you are not Muslim,” posted Hamza. “However, you believe with all your heart and soul that you are a Muslim and putting all scholarly debates about aqeeda aside, that’s enough for me to feel the bond of brotherhood with you and congratulate you on your win!”
"A simple congratulation would have been enough rather than this unnecessary and baseless caption," a user commented on Hamza's post.
Here's to hoping Hamza does better in the future.
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