Khiladi Akshay Kumar, who had been receiving massive backlash and criticism from the public for endorsing the Vimal pan masala brand, has now apologized for the same. In a recent advertisement, Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan welcomed Akshay Kumar to the ‘Vimal’ universe, and the three actors were seen chewing on cardamom. This didn’t go down well with fans as they accused the actors of promoting bad habits and products. People began sharing Akshay Kumar’s old video where he said that he would never promote such products.
After getting brutally trolled and criticized, Akshay shared an apology on social media. He wrote, “I am sorry. I would like to apologise to you, all my fans and well-wishers. Your reaction over the past few days has deeply affected me. While I have not and will not endorse tobacco, I respect the outpouring of your feelings in light of my association with Vimal Elaichi. With all humility, I step back. I have decided to contribute the entire endorsement fee towards a worthy cause. The brand might continue airing the ads till the legal duration of the contract that is binding upon me, but I promise to be extremely mindful in making my future choices. In return, I shall forever continue to ask for your love and wishes.”
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Akshay Kumar’s apology has regained the love and respect of his fans. A user wrote, “Superstar for a reason….U don’t deserve all those hate sir.”
Another commented, “Real Men accept the mistake & accepting the mistake makes you even greater.. It shows how much imp your Fans are for you..”
Ajay Devgn, who also faces criticism over the same issue, once said during an interview, “It is a personal choice. When you do something, you also see how harmful it would be. Somethings are harmful, some are not. I would say it without naming it because I don’t want to promote it; I was doing elaichi. What I feel is more than advertisements, if certain things are so wrong, then they should not be sold.”
For the unaware, Vimal employs surrogate advertising to sell harmful products such as ‘gutka’.
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