Samantha Ruth Prabhu Reflects on the Backing of South Film Stars During Online Criticism

Citadel: Honey Bunny actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu recently took a moment to express her gratitude to fellow stars, including Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Mahesh Babu, and others who stood by her during the controversy surrounding her divorce from Naga Chaitanya. For those who may not know, Telangana Minister Konda Surekha alleged that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KTR was the cause of their separation. This claim sparked significant backlash, leading Nagarjuna to seek legal assistance to file a defamation lawsuit against the politician.

Recently, in an interview with Galatta India, Samantha opened up about the situation. The actress expressed how touched she felt when the entire South Indian film industry supported her during the wave of online negativity. The Citadel actress stated, "The reason why I’m sitting here today is because this group of people didn’t give up on me, and it is their love and their faith in me that has made me come out of this."

Samantha went on to share that her healing process would have taken much longer without the industry’s support. She mentioned, "I would have succumbed to my situation. I wouldn’t have had anything to fight for—to come back up. And it’s because of the faith of the people sitting here that I am here today."

Recently, Surekha ignited a controversy by claiming that BRS leader KT Rama Rao was responsible for the divorce between Samantha and Naga Chaitanya in 2021. “KTR asked to send Samantha in return for not demolishing the N-convention centre. Nagarjuna forced Samantha to go to KTR, but she said no. That led to divorce," Surekha was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald. In her statements to the media, Surekha also asserted, “It is KT Rama Rao because of whom Samantha’s divorce happened. He was a minister at that time and used to tap the phones of the actresses and then find their weaknesses to blackmail them. He used to make them drug addicts and then do this. Everyone knows this, Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, his family, everybody is aware that such a thing happened."

Subsequently, Nagarjuna lodged a complaint against Surekha under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In his complaint, a copy of which was shared by Chaitanya on his social media, Nagarjuna claimed that the minister’s comments harmed his family’s reputation. 

Discussing how she deals with online trolling, Samantha offered a thoughtful viewpoint: “When I get a hate tweet, I try not to look at that hate as a reflection of myself. Instead, I consider what the person sending it might be going through."