Mumbai: Bigg Boss Tamil has issued a clarification after its host Vijay Sethupathi’s comments on leadership were interpreted by some viewers as a dig at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
Sethupathi was speaking to contestant Shathiga about her stint as captain during Saturday’s episode. The conversation turned to promises, responsibility, and what makes a good leader.
“Making reckless promises and then, when problems and responsibilities arise, blaming the opposition and running away is not leadership. It is deception,” Sethupathi said.
In the clarification, posted on X on Monday, Vijay Television, the Tamil entertainment channel that airs Bigg Boss Tamil, said that Sethupathi’s comments shouldn’t be taken out of context. It also clarified that any “interpretation or association beyond the programme” is not intentional or endorsed.
“Bigg Boss Tamil Season 10 is an entertainment programme presented within the framework of its established format, themes and game environment. The situations, conversations, expressions and interactions featured in the programme form part of its evolving narrative and are to be understood in the context in which they occur within the show,” the channel said in the post.
On the show, Sethupathi also spoke about the power that comes with the “chair”, saying that while every household has a chair, occupying one brings authority, and that power can be intoxicating.
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The backlash
Sethupathi did not name Vijay, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) or any other political leader. He was speaking about Shathiga’s captaincy, after other contestants criticised her for not following through on promises she had made before taking charge.
But that did not stop the comments from being read politically online. Clips of Sethupathi’s remarks did rounds on X, with Vijay supporters accusing the actor of taking an indirect swipe at the Chief Minister.
One user accused Sethupathi of creating “unnecessary social unrest” and said that if he wanted to express political opinions, he should enter politics and face his opponents directly. The user also demanded an apology from Sethupathi and asked Star Vijay to take note of the issue.
Others pushed back. One user said Sethupathi had been speaking generally and had not named anyone. Another shared the clip asking whether he was talking about Shathiga “or someone?”
Vijay Television, the Tamil entertainment channel that airs Bigg Boss Tamil, issued a clarification on X on Monday.
“The conversations, opinions and events on the show take place within its established format and game environment and should be understood in that context. No reference or expression in the programme should be construed as representing, endorsing or commenting upon any person, organization, institution, ideology or circumstance outside the context of the programme,” the channel said in the post.
The 10th season of Bigg Boss Tamil premiered on 6 September, with Sethupathi returning as host. The show also streams on JioHotstar.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)