Bollywood actor and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Hema Malini on Wednesday called the controversial advertisement by healthcare products company Kent RO Systems “inappropriate” and said that it doesn’t resonate with her values.
“I respect and stand by all sections of society,” she said in a statement after the advertisement for an ”Atta & Bread Maker” drew massive criticism on social media for its “classist” content.
Views expressed by the recent advertisement of Kent Atta by @KentROSystems do not resonate with my values and are inappropriate, The Chairman has already tendered a public apology for the mistake.I hereby wish to put on record that I respect and stand by all sections of society. pic.twitter.com/i6tY3hJdt8
— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) May 27, 2020
The advertisement, featuring brand ambassador Hema Malini and her daughter Esha Deol, allegedly portrayed househelps in a bad light by depicting them as carriers of infection.
“Are you allowing your maid to knead atta dough by hand? Her hands may be infected,” read the ad for Kent’s Atta and Bread Maker, encouraging customers to invest in a product that would knead dough hands-free.
The advertisement didn’t go down well with many on the social media who accused the brand of being “classist”. “In a classist way, the ad suggests that only a maid’s hand could be unclean,” wrote one Twitter user.
Mahesh Gupta, chairman and managing director of Kent RO Systems, issued an official apology for “hurting sentiments”. “Our recent advertisement of Kent Atta & Bread Maker on social media was unintentional, badly communicated, and was wrong. And therefore, it was immediately withdrawn. We are extremely sorry for this incident and want to apologise to everyone, especially the people whose sentiments were hurt,” read the apology.
