In the wake of the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni lawsuit and very public online smear campaign, we ask Bollywood publicists, managers, entertainment editors and trade gurus about just how much can a smear campaign affect a celebrity’s social currency
Actress Kangana Ranaut has publicly admitted to being at the receiving end of the industry’s inability to stomach her. In 2021, she said, “Just last week, I lost more than five lakh followers on Instagram. They gang up on you, boycott you.”. Pics/Getty Images
It all started with conspiracy theories as to why Hollywood actors and stars of the 2024 movies, It Ends with Us, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, were unable to get along during the shoot of the said movie. “Creative disagreement” was the popular term used for it, but what lay underneath was slander, and an effort to put down the other. Soon, social media was rife with conspiracy theories—some experts reading body language of the two stars—some just pondering on why they were both not seen together during promotions of the movie. It was declared: the two couldn’t stand each other. There was some truth to the fire, as in the past two week, both Lively and Baldoni have filed lawsuits against each other. Lively’s account, where she accuses Baldoni of sexual harassment, was also reported in the New York Times by Megan Twohey (who has reported on the Harvey Weinstein case) with the headline: “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine”. What took centrestage: the use of social media and the Internet to create a narrative (true or not) of the other.
ADVERTISEMENT
But how is Bollywood viewing this?
A celebrity manager, on condition of anonymity, says the best way to attack a star is to attack their “image”. “They care for nothing as much as their image. And creative disagreements and celebrity fall-outs are rampant in this industry. For instance, Salman Khan walked out of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film after announcing it. Of course, that couldn’t have been pleasant. But what separates that from the Baldoni-Lively case is that neither party went out of their way to pull the other one down. A classic case of a Bollywood smear campaign is what happened to Kangana.”
Earlier this week, a slanderous article on Triptii Dimri appeared on a website, which claimed that she was removed from Aashiqui 3 because makers weren’t comfortable with her bold avatar in Animal
Actress Kangana Ranaut has publicly admitted to being at the receiving end of the industry’s inability to stomach her. In 2021, she said, “Just last week, I lost more than five lakh followers on Instagram. They gang up on you, boycott you, and if that leaves you happy and content, they ruin your image and brand. That’s how they killed Sushant [Singh Rajput]. That’s how they harass outsiders who don’t need them for work. There are paid smear campaigns happening on Instagram as well… Many derogatory memes and fake information about me are spread. Instagram is also paid as my followers numbers automatically drop, fans who unfollow don’t even realise it... There is a proper investment of troll army, creative budget to make memes, to write lies to spread smear campaigns, movie mafia + political mafia + jaded actors who are rejected lovers, you are jealous of even a fruit bowl...” These observations were following an incident when Ranaut posted a picture of herself having breakfast, and got trolled.
A former publicist of Ranaut’s, who worked with her for a year, told us, “This whole impression that Kangana is difficult and a loose cannon, has been created. She is very professional and believes in doing her work and going home. She has a certain political leaning and believes in it strongly, but who isn’t leaning towards the establishment today. Why should she be vilified? Then it all boils down to—is she good at her work? Oh yes, she is. It’s a good question to ask then—why is she not getting films? Some part of the answer is that she has managed to offend her directors. She has wanted creative control and I personally believe, directors allow men the creative control, when women ask for it, there’s an issue. There has been a systematic smear campaign on Kangana—where videos of her using a fake horse have been leaked when every actor does that for period films. Money has been spent on bringing her down. If one wishes to study a smear campaign, they should go through Kangana’s career post 2015.”
The problem happens when a one-off dispute shifts from professional disagreements to personal attacks, with media outlets amplifying unverified claims from anonymous insiders. This pattern is a textbook example of how celebrity feuds are orchestrated and sustained in the digital age. Earlier this week, a slanderous article on Triptii Dimri appeared on a website, which claimed that she was removed from Aashiqui 3 because makers weren’t comfortable with her bold avatar in Animal. In Triptii’s case, the story may be planted by professional rivals who want to cost her an opportunity/ or envious of the fact that she is currently shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj’s film with Shahid Kapoor.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are now involved in a very public spat that hinges on both stars saying the other ran a smear campaign against them
But it could be a reach to say this only happens to the women in the industry. An industry veteran pointed out that in 2014, Aamir Khan met Mumbai Police to complain about “false and malicious messages” that were being circulated in social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to damage his image and reputation of his issue-based show Satyamev Jayate. “Aamir Khan complained to us about some objectionable messages getting circulated (against him),” a police official had told the press then.
But how do the smear campaigns work, and more importantly, do they succeed in today’s media landscape? Let’s take a closer look at Bollywood’s modus operandi. Tushar Joshi, entertainment editor of India Today, tells us, “These smear campaigns are age-old in the industry. Sometimes they are direct and sometimes they are proxy. But what is going on in Hollywood is something actors in Bollywood have faced. These campaigns happen via publicists, production houses, actors and colleagues and friends who have agendas different from their rivals. Maybe emails, voice calls haven’t been made public. They might have been exchanged in private to sway the minds of the opinion makers. The only difference is most of what happens in Bollywood happens behind closed doors. With the Baldoni-Lively case out in the open now, new norms are being set.”
Smear campaigns are rarely explicit. They are carefully orchestrated efforts that exploit the vulnerabilities of digital ecosystems. A lot of the battle has moved to Redditt. In an email interview, the Reddit account, Bollywood, tells us, “We frequently get requests to post leaks and we do so. So far, we haven’t got commercial deals but it’s only a matter of time until we get there. We list it under unverified goss. We have noticed a lot of gossip on Kartik Aryan, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and the things that we get told are juicy. Clearly, someone wants to feed these stories to the public. The tabloids have stopped carrying gossip, so we have to. A post can look organic, but it’s often the first step in a much-larger campaign.”
A Bollywood publicist tells us, “Earlier, the approach was subtle. Journalists were given insider tidbits—sometimes, stories were planted by mentioning them in passing. The goal is to create a seed of doubt in their audience’s mind. But now, it has become all about money. Influencers with followers ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 are often paid to post seemingly neutral content that’s actually part of a coordinated campaign. A simple Instagram story about a “troubling blind item” can snowball into a full-blown scandal.”
Smear campaigns work because they tap into our collective love for drama. Controversy sells, and people are quick to believe what aligns with their existing biases. It’s classic voyeurism,” says a Bollywood podcaster. But at the same time, a smear campaign has little correlation to a film. There is plenty of hate against Ranbir Kapoor but his film, Animal, made nearly Rs 1,000 crores.
Veteran director Anurag Kashyap had said before that a smear campaign might work for a weekend, but it can’t sustain itself if the audience connects with the work of an actor. At the end of the day, content is king.
In the end, none of the bitterness matters, says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “The goal is that a film must work. Smear campaigns pique curiosity and fuels the news cycle. But the audience wants a movie, they want to be entertained. Often films have gone through political controversies and personal issues and have powered through because the film is good. Also none of this affects an actor’s brand value. It is a he said/she said story until someone goes to the cinema hall and says ‘oh what a film’. I have to quote a story here. BR Chopra and Madhubala went into a famous trial over a film. She was replaced by Vyajantimala and the film did very well despite this controversy. Collections remained unaffected. I had asked Chopra sa’ab, ‘Aapko laga nahi negativity aajayegi’ and he had said, ‘Kaam karma hota hai. Acha kaam kariye and the audience will reward you’. The interpersonal dynamics may be shaken, but cinema will last forever.”
Also Read: Do toxic fan clubs steer movie success?
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
