Teja Sajja strikes out at Konda Surekha

Teja released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that while several thousand votes may have made her the representative of the people, actors earn the trust of millions of people to be in their position. He wrote: “Although 3L votes can make you a people’s representative, earning 100 million trust is what it takes to become an actor. It is completely unacceptable to degrade anyone, especially women, in such a way.”

He also added that it’s “disappointing” to see her “shallow opinion” of actors, writing: “It’s disappointing that you have such a shallow opinion of us actors. As actors, we are at the forefront of community efforts – whether that is through donations, social services or taxes. Despite our considerable efforts, we are the ones unfairly targeted.”

He ended the message condemning the “exploitation of personal lives for political gain”, urging that such discussions be “kept out of political discourse”. He also used the hashtag #FilmIndustryWillNotTolerate.

For unversed, Teja worked as a child actor for years but debuted as an adult with Samantha-stars Oh! Baby.

Celebrities come out to support

Ravi Teja also released a statement on X, calling it “demonic tactics” to target actors. He wrote, “I am appalled at a woman minister resorting to demonic tactics and fabricating vile allegations against the respectable in the name of political warfare. This is beyond shameful. No one should drag innocent individuals, especially women, into their political rivalry. Leaders should set a positive example and strengthen societal values, not detract from them. #FilmIndustryWillNotTolerate.”

Vishwak Sen wrote that people need to remember that “actors are people too” and that they “deserve respect”. Of Samantha, he added, “She is a superstar, and she earned it with courage. She will remain strong, but not everyone is equally resilient. Depression is often caused by how we treat each other, not by choice. So before you comment, think on what effect your words can have. If we can’t make someone smile, at least let’s not be the cause of their tears. #FilmIndustryWillNotTolerate.”

What happened

Surekha on Wednesday alleged that BRS party leader KT Rama Rao (KTR) used to tap the phones of women actors and blackmail them. She also alleged that Samantha divorced Chaitanya because of him. After receiving backlash, Hon clarified on X that her intention was to point out how KTR allegedly degrades women and not to hurt Samantha’s image.

Her statement comes after Samantha, Chaitanya, NagarjunaAmala Akkineni, Akhil Akkineni, Jr NTR, Nani, Khushbu Sundar, Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun, Sudheer Babu, Lakshmi Manchu and others called her out on social media. According to ANI, KTR sent a defamatory notice to Surekha. In the legal notice, KTR stated that Surekha made the comments to “damage” her image and demanded an immediate withdrawal of the statements made.