Shoaib Ibrahim, Trolled For 'Tone Deaf' Kashmir Vlog, Questions Selective Backlash Against Him: Even Film Promotions Are...

Shoaib Ibrahim and Dipika Kakar landed on the wrong side of the internet by ‘teasing’ a vlog on their recent visit to Kashmir, immediately after the terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent, unarmed tourists. On the day of the attack, the couple, who had already left Kashmir by the time, took to their Instagram stories to write, “Hi guys, U all have been concerned for our well-being… Hum sab safe hain theek hain, aaj hi morning me we left Kashmir… (We are all safe, we left Kashmir this morning), And we reached Delhi safely… Thank you for all the concern.. New vlog coming soon." Their message did not sit well with social media users who called the couple ‘insensitive’ and ‘tone deaf’ for using the post to promote their new vlog.

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While Shoaib and Dipika did not upload their Kashmir vlog, the actor did share a new video on his channel. In the video, he addressed the incessant trolling and questioned the selective backlash against them while other content creators are not being critiqued for similar behaviour. Explaining what happened on April 22, Shoaib said in his vlog, "We flew from Srinagar to Delhi on April 22, and when we were in flight in the afternoon, the Pahalgam incident took place at that time, which we were not aware of. When we landed in Delhi and switched on our phones, finally, after a week, we got our network, as we all know, prepaid sims don't work in Kashmir. We started getting messages from people asking about our well-being. We did not bother much because we were travelling with a kid, especially. When we reached our hotel, the news about the attack started coming in, but they initially said that one or two people were injured. We only knew about the injured people, so we thought of informing everyone, and I put up the story to inform everyone that we are safe and the vlog is coming out soon. But we did not expect that people would make it so big. (sic)"

He argued that it was not his intention to promote the vlog and was not aware of the severity of the attack. He added, "Par kayi log mujhe maa-behan ki gaaliyaan bakk rahe hain DMs par. (People have been abusing me.)"

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Questioning the backlash against them, Shoaib stressed, "Even if I had gone ahead and posted the vlog, why are only Dipika and I being targeted? Are we special to you? All vloggers have been uploading videos on a daily basis, and film promotions and music video promotions are happening. Even you guys must be leading your lives the same way as before. You are all eating, singing and doing your work. So why am I the only one to get targeted?"  

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Shoaib Ibrahim and Dipika Kakar tied the knot in February 2018. They welcomed their son Ruhaan in 2023. Their recent trip to Kashmir marked his first outing.