New Delhi: Amanda Cerny is no stranger to India, having collaborated with Jacqueline Fernandez and Bhuvan Bam in the past.
Apart from pop star Rihanna, former porn actor Mia Khalifa and climate activist Greta Thunberg, another popular online celebrity has been vociferously tweeting about the farmer protests in India — Amanda Cerny, known to many Indians as a lookalike of actor Jacqueline Fernandez.
Cerny first spoke about the farmer protests on 3 February on her Instagram account, after Rihanna expressed her support for farmers on 2 February.
Cerny is a YouTube sensation with close to 2.8 million followers on the video streaming platform and 25 million followers on Instagram. According to her website, she has close to 45 million across social media platforms.
Cerny not only extended her support to the farmer protests but also contributed to focusing international attention on the protests. In her Instagram post, liked more than seven lakh times, Cerny said one “does not have to be Indian, Punjabi or South Asian to understand the issue. All one has to do is care about humanity”.
Thereafter, she was subjected to social media trolling, along with the other female celebrities, who have been vocal about the farmer protests in India.
Articles written in some publications sought to describe her as nothing more than a ‘playboy model’.
In response to the trolling, Cerny has started joking about the accusations of getting paid to talk about the farmer protests along with Mia Khalifa, in a series of widely shared tweets.
In one tweet, Cerny, sarcastically, said her 10-year-old niece had drafted an agreement under which Cerny would get $100 to “create, produce and publish an endless amount of tweets (sic) supporting the need for basic human rights”.
Had my 10 year old niece draft this up. I’ll sponsor you! & You sponsor me!!!! Dreams do come true! https://t.co/S249ehO1eI pic.twitter.com/BLIU3n04Bv
— Amanda Cerny (@AmandaCerny) February 7, 2021
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The Indian connection
Cerny, 29, was born in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and is the founder of video on-demand service Zeus. She has written and directed over 3,000 sketches and music videos. Cerny also describes herself as a model, actor, health and wellness enthusiast and content creator. She has been a United Nations Environment and Wildlife ambassador since 2019.
Her connection to India includes a collaboration with popular Indian YouTuber Bhuvan Bam in 2018. Bhuvan is known for his wildly popular creation ‘BB Ki Vines’ in which Bam takes on different characters in a single sketch.
The collaboration with Bam includes a 2018 recreation of a proposal scene from the film Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), which stars Raj Kapoor.
Many Indians have noted that Cerny bears a strong resemblance to actor Jacqueline Fernandez. Fernandez met Cerny in 2018 and even posted a picture with her. Since then, the two have hosted a podcast together, titled ‘Feels Good’, in 2020, which featured actor Saif Ali Khan in its first episode.
In 2019, she visited India and gave a typical Bollywood award show-like dance performance of Hindi songs at the YouTube fanfest in Mumbai. She had come to India reportedly at Fernandez’s invitation.
Also read: Rakesh Tikait says he does not know Rihanna, Greta Thunberg, but welcomes their support