The internet was recently taken by storm when a video surfaced showing an Indian man asking American singer and actress Selena Gomez to chant “Jai Shree Ram.” The clip, initially shared on Instagram by photographer Pallav Paliwal, sparked heated debates online. The phrase “Jai Shree Ram,” a traditional Hindu chant meaning “Victory to Lord Ram,” holds significant cultural and religious importance in India.
In the video, Selena Gomez is seen posing with the man, who enthusiastically introduces her to what he calls “India’s best slogan.” Gomez, visibly taken aback, responds with a polite smile and a noncommittal “Thank you, honey,” rather than repeating the chant. The moment, while brief, has triggered a wave of reactions across social media, with many finding it awkward or misplaced.
A hindu man met Selena Gomez and asked her to chant “Jai Shree Ram”, only to be ignored by her. pic.twitter.com/WSJqCCfF2t
— A (@atmanirbhar_kid) October 31, 2024
The video, though claimed by Paliwal to have been filmed recently during Diwali, shows Gomez with a hairstyle and outfit that match her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in France last year. Regardless of when it was taken, the video has made its way from Instagram to X (formerly Twitter), amassing hundreds of thousands of views and fueling intense discussions.
While some users found the interaction humorous or harmless, the overwhelming sentiment was negative, with comments expressing secondhand embarrassment. “I’m a Hindu and this is embarrassing,” one person shared on Instagram. Another echoed, “Our religion doesn’t need unnecessary foreign validation. Stop embarrassing yourself and us along with you.” The sentiment of discomfort resonated through dozens of similar posts, highlighting that many viewers felt it was an awkward overreach to involve an international celebrity in religious or cultural expressions without context.
On X, the clip was reposted with the caption, “A Hindu man met Selena Gomez and asked her to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram,’ only to be ignored by her.” Users on the platform were quick to criticize the exchange. “I don’t know what people get by embarrassing themselves,” one person wrote, while another wryly commented, “So ‘Namaste’ is no longer how we greet each other now…” The overall reaction underscored a feeling of “secondhand embarrassment” for what many viewed as an awkward, culturally tone-deaf interaction.
