Race 3 actors Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez face Netizens’ ire for ‘forcing’ child to hug even after he said no

Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez have come under sever flak on social media for ‘forcing a child’ to hug Fernandez during the promotion of their upcoming film Race 3 on a TV show. Fernandez had posted a clip of the show on her Instagram handle that shows her and Khan coaxing a young boy, a contestant, to give her a hug. On being asked if he was willing to, he said “nahi (no), explaining “mann nahi kar raha (I don’t feel like it.)”

Albeit in a playful way, the actors then go up to the stage and ensure that the boy hugs the actress, when his body language (after he clearly said no earlier) shows no inclination towards the embrace. However, the act seems to have irked netizens who now say the actors, as responsible and well-known personalities, should have known better than “violating a child’s consent”. “Regardless of whether the child was joking or not (I personally don’t think he was, look at body language, Salman turned it into a joke), when asked if he wanted a hug he said “nahi”. The word no came out of his mouth and that gives nobody the right to go and hug him anyway. As far as “sabhi bachho ke saath hota hai” is concerned, well that doesn’t make it okay. It only means that adults don’t understand that the concept of consent also applies to children,” read the comment of Anushka C, one Instagram user.

She was just one among many who took to slamming the actors for going against the child’s wish to not give her a hug. Fernandez’s caption under the video read: Kids usually love me, this boy was an exception.. at least I got my hug in the end.”