Member-only story
She Called Out Priyanka Chopra at BeautyCon, and It Went Viral
A beauty influencer challenged the UNICEF ambassador and shed light on the India-Pakistan conflict
On August 10, beauty bloggers, makeup addicts, and celebrities gathered in downtown Los Angeles for Beautycon LA. UNICEF ambassador and international celebrity Priyanka Chopra was on stage during one of the panels when Pakistani American beauty vlogger, Ayesha Malik, called her a hypocrite for her tweet on February 26 in support of the Indian Army. Chopra retorted that she’s a patriotic Indian, asked Malik if she was done venting, and security guards were seen pulling Malik away. The video went viral.
Why is this heated exchange between Chopra and Malik important? India and Pakistan have been long-time rivals since they claimed independence from Britain’s colonial rule in 1947. They’ve fought three wars over the past 70 years; two of the wars have been over the disputed Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir that borders both nations. Both countries are nuclear-war ready and on February 26, a Pakistan-based militant group attacked Indian paramilitary police on the Indian side of Kashmir. This unleashed a fury of military activity between the two governments. Citizens in both countries called for peace. In the midst of this, Chopra tweeted her support for the Indian armed forces.
Her response represents a bigger divide between the South Asian diaspora, especially in light of the recent conflict in Kashmir, where India has sent in 10,000 armed forces and issued a blackout. India and Pakistan are at loggerheads once again.
India and Pakistan on the brink of nuclear war and fighting over the long-disputed territory gets little attention in world news. But a now-viral video of 28-year-old Pakistani American beauty influencer and entrepreneur Ayesha Malik confronting Priyanka Chopra about her views on Indian politics might have clued in thousands to a conflict that is underreported in the news. This includes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recently revoking Article 370 which granted Hindu-majority Jammu and Muslim-majority Kashmir autonomous rule. After Kashmir’s special status was revoked, the Indian government administered a complete communication and media blackout, tourists were…
