Banning an actor for his opinion sets a dangerous precedent: Osman Khalid Butt

Actor took to Twitter to rant about cancel culture after Firdous Jamal's controversial comments on Mahira Khan

Actor Osman Khalid Butt had something to say on Twitter recently and it all stemmed over the ongoing controversy between Mahira Khan and Firdous Jamal.

The Janaan star is the latest celebrity to indirectly share his two cents over the incident, which saw the veteran actor pit claims towards Mahira on being 'too old' to be a heroine and suggested the star play mothers instead of female protagonists now. Firdous then went on to say that he finds Mahira to be a “mediocre model” and that his comments should be taken in good faith.

Firdous Jamal and Pakistan's romance with ageism 

Needless to say, his controversial comments sparked a fire on Twitter, with celebrities such as Mawra Hocane and Humayun Saeed rushing to Mahira's defence. Osman Khalid Butt was no exception.

Dismissively claiming actresses have a shelf-life, that they should stop acting as leads and appear as mothers is not the same as 'mentioning their age', you bashi-bazouk.
I'll stay in my lane when you delete your account, and your existence. Acha tamasha lagaya hua hai. https://t.co/aUHs1rQEso

— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) July 27, 2019

And it is her dedication and passion towards her work that has led her to this position. She is a heroine and a star in every sense of these words. As far as age is concerned, an actor and their talent is not bound by it.

— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) July 27, 2019

Taking a dig at the biggest name of your country makes you as small as it gets. Disrespectful remarks in the garb of opinions need to STOP. Hope the two mins of fame were worth it. Mahira works extremely hard to be where she is. It’s not easy
So Proud of you my M❤️ @TheMahiraKhan

— MAWRA (@MawraHocane) July 27, 2019

Now, Osman has taken to the social media platform to rant about cancel culture, after Momina Duraid vowed to never work with Firdous after his comments on Faisal Qureshi’s morning show.

The actor shared a note starting off with how banning an actor due to his opinion, "however dangerous said opinion might be, sets a dangerous precedent, because then your outrage cannot remain selective."

Some thoughts at an ungodly hour. pic.twitter.com/exDT1LXkVa

— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) August 2, 2019

He called to end this cycle of pitting celebrities against one another, such as when they appear on talk shows and are asked to give their candid views for the sake of fodder, adding that the industry needs to be unified and respectful of each other.

"Problematic behaviour should and must be called out. But you cannot play at extremes either way." Osman also warned that cancel culture seems to have missed the point: "You are not allowing anyone to reflect on their mistakes, or to atone."

He concluded: "Choosing not to work with someone because of their opinions is not a violation of their free speech rights. Dismissing their contribution to our industry, though, is regrettable."

I think the legend firdous jamal has done nothing wrong.If u realy believe in a freedom of speech than try to respect others opinion if mahira is a so called star than firdous jamal is a legend #supportfirdousjamal

— Anamta (@anamtashah2) August 1, 2019

However, Firdous has quite a support network on Twitter despite criticisms against him, when the hashtag #supportFirdousJamal started trending on social media. This is thanks to the actor's son, Hamza Firdous who created the hashtag. Even Shaan Shahid and Feroze Khan chimed in, with the latter writing, "Is this where freedom of speech gets you? Getting someone's bread and butter cancelled?"

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