Pakistani actor Ushna Shah deactivates Instagram after being ‘bullied for Hindu style’ bridal lehenga: Please forgive me

On Wednesday, Ushna took to Instagram to share how she ‘worked very hard’ to keep her wedding private, but felt ‘violated’ when her photos were shared online without permission, and she was in turn ‘bullied’ for wearing a red lehenga. Announcing that she was ‘signing off’ from Instagram for a few days ‘for the sake of her mental health’, Ushna said she did not marry the way she did to ‘offend Pakistani culture’. She also apologised for ‘letting down’ people with her wedding outfit.

She wrote in a series of Instagram Stories that she had received ‘hundreds of thousands of messages’ after she married in her ‘own way’. Sharing a screenshot of her recent conversation with the photographer, who allegedly sneaked a drone into her wedding and shared her unauthorised wedding photos online with the help of a fashion blogger, who was invited for the wedding, the actor wrote on Instagram Stories, “I apologised to AB (a fashion blogger) only to save him from trolling and I am getting mercilessly bullied for getting married my way.”

She continued to write, “For desperately trying to keep my shaadi (wedding) my own. For being upset that my nikkah (wedding ceremony) got interrupted by a drone and for feeling violated. Hundreds of thousands of messages. This is beyond cruel. Please forgive me for wearing what I wore and for trying to protect what was meant to be only mine. I did not sign up for any of this. I am bowing out of this narrative.”

Ushna further announced she was deactivating her Instagram account. She wrote on Instagram Stories moments prior to taking the step, “I haven’t reacted to online trolling for years, but I am a human being at a very vulnerable time of my life. A new bride in a new home. From hiring photography teams, who signed NDAs to hiring security and (following) strict guest lists, I wanted to protect our union and only share what I was comfortable with. I worked very hard for this time to be private.”

The Pakistani actor further wrote, “Several people invaded that privacy to exploit our happy occasion, including disrupting our nikkah. Like any bride would be, I was mortified, only times a million. I had a human moment and reacted; I exposed the first person I learnet invaded my privacy…”

Ushna also wrote, “I have read many of the comments, they don’t seem to stop. Please believe that I did not get married to offend our culture. That was not the intention, and if that is what people feel I have done then I apologise for letting them down. I am going to sign off from this platform (Instagram) for a few days for the sake of my mental health and to spend this precious time and energy on my wonderful husband and my new family, who are a blessing. I am also questioning if I am cut out for this job. Thank you for the love and prayers.”

Earlier, Ushna had questioned those slamming her wedding outfit, by taking to her Instagram Stories on Sunday. She wrote, “To those who have a problem with my dress: you weren’t invited, nor did you pay for my shade of red. My jewellery, my jora (wedding outfit): purely Pakistani…”