The actor said that a 16-year-old gay artist from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, committed suicide after receiving hundreds of hateful comments on an Instagram clip the artist had posted.
Self-taught makeup artist Pranshu, a 16-year-old LGBT artist from Ujjain, maintained an Instagram account with beauty and cosmetics-related stuff. The 16-year-old shared a saree-clad Instagram transition film on Diwali.
Actor Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju of the web series “Made in Heaven” said that more than 4,000 homophobic comments flooded the artist’s comment area, encouraging them to commit suicide. The musician has more than 16,500 followers on their ‘glamitupwithpranshu’ Instagram account.
Activist Trinetra asserted that the hashtag #JusticeForPranshu “has no posts because some violate community guidelines” and that meta-owned social media sites, such as Instagram, have consistently failed to offer a safe haven for gay people.
A number of LGBTQ community members conveyed their sorrow and criticized Facebook, Instagram, X, and other sites for not doing enough to stop self-harm. The exact cause of the suicide is still unknown, according to KS Gehlot, the police station commander in Nagjhiri, and the matter is being looked into, as the Free Press Journal reported.
Former Meta executive Arthur Bejar said that Instagram was “fundamentally misleading” the public about the safety of its teen platform. Bejar departed the company in 2021. In testimony given to US Senators earlier this month, Mr. Bejar stated that youngsters as young as 13 should “categorically not” use Instagram.
