Twitter controversies are nothing new, and mostly recently, Salman Khan faced major backlash on the social networking site for a string of tweets he sent out regarding Yakub and Tiger Memon and the 1993 blasts. He had condemned the hanging of Yakub Memon, and said that Tiger should be brought to justice instead. The earlier tweet read, “Hang Tiger. Brother is being hanged for Tiger. Arre Where is Tiger? Get tiger hang him. Parade him not his brother.” In addition, he directed a tweet to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asking him whether Tiger was in his country.
As you can imagine, this created quite the stir – BJP wanted the actor’s bail (in the 2002 hit-and-run case) cancelled, the Shiv Sena chief angrily asked whether Salman was trying to question the country’s judicial system, and Twitter reacted by trending the hashtags #SalmanWithTerrorist and #SalmanBeingIgnorant.
Salman’s dad, Salim Khan, publicly condemned the tweets, saying that they are “wrong” and “meaningless” and that he does not support it. Salman later deleted his tweets, and posted a series of clarifications – which, quite honestly, seem to have been written by his PR team. Take a look:
I had tweeted that Tiger Memon should hang for his crimes and I stand by it. What i also said is that Yakub Memon should not hang for him.
— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015
I have not said or implied that Yakub Memon is innocent. I have complete faith in the judicial system of our country. — Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015
Many lives were lost in the Mumbai blasts. And I have repeatedly said the loss of one innocent life is equal to the loss of all humanity.
— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015
My dad called & said I should retract my tweets as they have the potential to create misunderstanding. I here by retract them. — Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015
I would like to unconditionally apologise for any misunderstanding I may have created unintentionally.
— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015
I also strongly condemn those who are claiming my tweets are anti religious. I have always said I respect all faiths and I always will. — Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015
What are your thoughts?