Kangana Ranaut has defended her controversial remarks about Gen Z protesters, arguing the Jantar Mantar gathering included people from various age groups and was not a youth-only protest.
WEBDESK – ZAINAB MIRAJ – SHARJAH NEWS
Actor-politician says her comments were directed at specific protesters and argues that people of different age groups took part in the Delhi demonstration
Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has issued another clarification over her remarks about Gen Z protesters, insisting that she never intended to criticize India’s entire young population.
The actor recently faced criticism after describing some participants in protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar as “Generation Gutter”. Her comments sparked a debate online, with critics accusing her of making a broad statement about Gen Z.
Ranaut has now pushed back against that interpretation, saying her comments were aimed at a particular section of people rather than an entire generation.
Kangana questions Gen Z protest claim
In a video shared on Instagram Stories, Ranaut questioned the description of the Jantar Mantar gathering as a “Gen Z protest”.
According to the actor, thousands of people attended the demonstration, but they came from different generations. She argued that only a smaller portion of the crowd belonged specifically to Gen Z.
Ranaut also referred to veteran actor Shabana Azmi, who participated in the protest, to emphasize her argument that the gathering was not exclusively made up of young people.
She suggested that the actions or statements of a limited number of participants should not automatically be presented as the views of millions of young Indians.
‘I am not against young people’
Ranaut strongly rejected the suggestion that she was targeting the younger generation as a whole.
She challenged her critics to identify a statement in which she had directly referred to all young people while making her earlier comments.
The actor maintained that she had clearly been speaking about particular individuals and their behavior. She also argued that describing her as anti-youth was unfair.
Ranaut pointed out that she considers herself part of the younger generation and therefore does not accept the characterization that she is opposed to young people.
How the controversy began
The dispute began after Ranaut criticized videos associated with the protests and expressed her disapproval of the language and behavior displayed by some participants.
In her original remarks, she used the phrase “Generation Gutter” while discussing what she described as vulgar or inappropriate conduct.
The comments quickly attracted criticism, with opponents arguing that the statement unfairly generalized about Gen Z.
Ranaut later attempted to narrow the scope of her remarks, saying she had been referring to certain individuals rather than everyone involved in the demonstrations.
She subsequently explained that her comments about “cockroaches” were also linked to specific people and should not be interpreted as an insult directed at the entire youth population.
Shabana Azmi’s role in the protest
Veteran actor Shabana Azmi became a prominent figure at the Jantar Mantar demonstration.
The 75-year-old actor participated in the July 20 march towards Parliament and shared moments from the event on social media. Images and videos showed her travelling with fellow protesters and moving through the demonstration alongside other participants.
Ranaut’s reference to Azmi was intended to highlight the age diversity she says was visible at the protest.
Her comments have since generated another round of discussion about whether the gathering should be described as a Gen Z-led movement.
Debate continues on social media
The controversy surrounding Ranaut’s statements has continued to attract attention online.
Supporters of the actor have argued that she was criticizing specific behavior rather than attacking an entire generation. Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the language she used and maintained that her original remarks were unnecessarily harsh.
Ranaut’s latest statement is therefore being viewed as another attempt to clarify her position.
For now, she continues to insist that her criticism was directed at a particular group of protesters and not at India’s wider youth population. Her comments have nevertheless kept the debate over Gen Z, protest movements and generational representation firmly in the spotlight.
