Designer Masaba Gupta Mantena has never been one to mince words on social media. She’s shut up trolls calling her a ‘bastard child’ and called out Indian society’s obsession with fair skin. Recently, with the same candidness, she announced that she and her husband Madhu Mantena, were going through a trial separation.
“We also want to say that this is a tough time for us & we want to really protect our privacy at this time,” she wrote. But of course, the media isn’t going to have any of that. Proving that journalists will do anything to get an exclusive scoop, one of them went ahead and texted Madhu asking if the rumours of his infidelity were true.
Masaba tweeted screenshots of the messages and wrote, “Going to address this because of the infidelity bit attached. Or maybe I will address more as it comes,given that I won’t tolerate a single thing being said about Madhu’s character. Not true.”
Going to address this because of the infidelity bit attached. Or maybe I will address more as it comes,given that I won’t tolerate a single thing being said about Madhu’s character. Not true. pic.twitter.com/YC3nGfDMmC
— Masaba Mantena (@MasabaG) August 26, 2018
Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that celebrities are human beings too. While it is the job of the media to get to the truth, there’s a difference between assailing someone’s character and getting to the fact of the matter. There is no evidence to suggest that Madhu cheated on Masaba, and asking him in those many words reflects a lack of consideration. Not to mention that it’s a gross invasion of privacy — something that, allow us to reiterate — the couple has explicitly asked for. Going through a rough patch or a break-up is bad enough without having to deal with the intense public scrutiny. For that matter, even a happy relationship can be tough to navigate with the media analysing each move of the couple (and sometimes, their families). While that’s the price you pay for being a celebrity, a line does need to be drawn in sensitive situations. Recently, before Priyanka Chopra’s engagement with singer Nick Jonas took place, the superstar had to reinforce the fact that she’s entitled to a degree of privacy. “My personal life is not for public consumption. 90% of my life is for public consumption but 10% is for me,” she told the press.
Masaba has been dignified and forthcoming about their relationship status, so that there is no scope for baseless speculations. In her announcement post (which was signed jointly), she said, “The only thing we are ready to say right now is, ‘what we both want out of life individually and separately is putting unnecessary pressure on the marriage and the love that we share. Hence we would take time off from each other and our marriage to figure out for ourselves what we want out of this life’.”
They added, “While we know, given the world and the lives we live in will lead to speculation, rumours and dragging us down into the dirt at this time… We are communicating and encouraging each other to be brave and reminding ourselves the only priority at this time is the well-being and protection of our own selves and our families.” Maybe we can take their word for it, and while we’re at it, let’s remember that they don’t owe us an explanation about their marital issues.
