Indian cricketer Virat Kohli was left annoyed by a fan who entered his hotel room and shot a video of his personal belongings on Monday. Kohli took to Instagram and penned down a serious note for his fans and said that he was ‘appalled’ by the video. He lashed out at the person who invaded his privacy and said that he was not okay with this kind of fanaticism.
An enraged Kohli shared the video and wrote, “I understand that fans get very happy and excited seeing their favourite players and get excited to meet them and I’ve always appreciated that. But this video here is appalling and it’s made me feel very paranoid about my privacy. If I cannot have privacy in my own hotel room, then where can I really expect any personal space at all?? I’m NOT okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy. Please respect people’s privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment.”
The video was originally posted on TikTok by an unidentified user with a caption that said “King Kohli’s hotel room”. It scanned through the room where Kohli was staying in Perth, where India played their 20-20 World Cup Super 12s match against South Africa on Sunday.
Among the people who responded to Kohli’s post was David Warner, who wrote, tagging the hotel, “This is ridiculous, totally unacceptable.”
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An absolute disgrace and violation of a human being: Anushka Sharma
Kohli’s wife, actor Anushka Sharma also shared her disappointment and wondered where one can draw the line in face of such behaviour. Sharing a screenshot of the video, the actor wrote,
“Have experienced a few incidents where some fans have shown no compassion or grace in the past but this really is the worst thing. An absolute disgrace and violation of a human being and anyone who sees this and thinks celebrity ho toh deal Karna padega should know that you are also part of the problem. Exercising some self-control helps everyone. Also, if this is happening in your bedroom then where is the line?”
The Indian team hasn’t raised the issue with the Apex Cricket Council or Cricket Australia, but they did bring it up with the hotel, which has promised to look into the matter.
Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions from fans on the issue. Here’s how fans reacted to the incident:
He is angry because then Leftist brands and media saw pictures of Ganesh and other idols in his room
Now he will lose the brand's
He cares about money more than he cares about his beliefs— Em!N€nt $oC!@li$t (@NosaneEmi) October 31, 2022
Gautam Gambhir hoga https://t.co/6gqgzoLbJ8
— Ali Wajee Ur Rehman ?? ?? (@iamaliwajee) October 31, 2022
Crown Perth has apologized to Virat Kohli and they have removed the person involved in this from the crown account.
— Deepjyoti Deka (@imdeepjyotideka) October 31, 2022
@imVkohli why did you repost the same video ? The person who did it may have only few followers but now its been seen by all your followers why did you compromise with your own privacy ?#Kohli
— Mayur (@bhattmayur) October 31, 2022
As per Lifafa stars #ViratKohli and #AnushkaSharma this is sheer invasion of privacy!! ?? https://t.co/atB0ZXcHDk
— Immortality (@ajay36mittal) October 31, 2022
I am not Your BiG BiG Fan. But Still Your #hotelroom Video of your Personal belonging made me Feel BAD.. People Don't understand that You Guys too need a Privacy At some point @imVkohli Bhai i stand with You.
— Swapnil M Patel (@52SwapnilPatel) October 31, 2022
Crown, Perth’s official statement post a staff recorded the videos of #ViratKohli?’s hotel room. #breachofprivacy #privacy #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/aO7cfUxMNV
— Bhrigu Bagga (@BaggaBhrigu) October 31, 2022
Gautam Gambhir would be like “Virat Kohli has to show restraint, so what if his privacy is intruded by a fan, it should not be about one person always”
— Divyesh (@iamdivyesh) October 31, 2022
Ye Crown vale to bc Clown nikle !! #T20worldcup22 #ViratKohli
— Vipin Tiwari (@vipintiwari952) October 31, 2022
That video came and vanished week's ago, he shared it now in his SM which has over 220million followers making it go viral in another level ?, he's just mad that it's a free endorsement for the product's he uses ?#ViratKohli
— Deepak Kumar (@Deepakjarvis) October 31, 2022
Here is the cameraman who captured #ViratKohli room video! pic.twitter.com/jTyQMhrJXD
— Gk (@ggk____) October 31, 2022
I am bit confused. If you care for privacy, then why share it on your Instagram account? @imVkohli
— AkhileshGM (@Akhigm) October 31, 2022