One of the most notorious things that any form of social media is known for is the ability it provides people to hate and criticize others. Many times, these bashful comments come from people using anonymous accounts with not so much as a photo of themselves. With all the appreciation and love that celebrities and content creators receive comes an equal amount of hurtful and demeaning things that are said. We asked some of the top female YouTubers – Prajakta Koli (MostlySane), Scherezade Shroff and Lisa Mishra – how they react to mean things that are said to them:
Prajakta Koli: I was very new to the platform. I didn't expect it. I did not see the hate coming. And there was suddenly so much hate. 'Gareebon ki Superwoman' (Poor man's Superwoman). And this is one of the more subtle, okay versions. At the end I was thinking, 'Tumhe meri mummy se problem kya hai? Bada yaad karte ho' (What problem do you have with my mother? You remember her a lot). It was just so dark. That was a very brief period where I thought, 'Why is everyone hating me?' And when they hate, they just hate blatantly.
Scherezade Shroff: It's also kind of like hate breeds hate. There's good comments and suddenly you'll see one bad one and then there'll be more bad ones.
Prajakta Koli: I actually see the opposite. Which is when I started liking the hate. When I see one bad comment, there are going to be 300 comments that come and say, 'Hey okay, if you think you can do it better, go and make a YouTube channel!' I think firstly, it's fun these days to read hate comments – now we read hate comments and laugh. It's really funny sometimes. Secondly, it's great engagement. One hate comment will bring 400 more. Who is it really helping? Let's be real. And thirdly, I use it for content. I've used the gareebon ki Superwoman line way too many times.
Scherezade Shroff: I got a lot of hate for my hair. First, I had hip-length hair which I donated for cancer. Everyone was like, 'Oh my god! You're such a great person!' Then when I cut it further for myself, they went, 'Why would you do that? You look ugly. You look like a boy.' So much hate! And I thought, 'WWw. People have a lot of time and energy. Over my hair!' I never even thought it was a thing. It doesn't affect me much. But people said, 'Why? Why? Why?' That for me was really shocking. It's a haircut and I love it. What's the big deal? That was the first time in my life where I got excessive hate. Otherwise people have always been nice and there's been occasional stray comments which you laugh about. But I guess you get thick skin and you stop thinking about it. And I made a video called 'The Shit People Say To Women With Short Hair' where I asked a lot of women what the nastiest thing someone said to them was. It was interesting because I got some content out of it.
Lisa Mishra: I think that's funny – we're all this clan of 'poor man's something'. Every top comment on all of my YouTube videos was 'You're the poor man's Sonam Kapoor'. I'm telling you how weird it was when we were in the Tareefan video together – I went, 'Try me now!' I got my comeuppance in that minute. But I've been reading all of those – 'Get a nose job', 'Get your teeth fixed'. I think for women, they just go for how much plastic surgery can enhance you.
Scherezade Shroff: I'm the only one they think is rich. The assumption is I'm rich. The comments are 'All parsis are rich'. Firstly, I'm not rich. Secondly, how does that even work?
Lisa Mishra: The best is when they insult you but then they say they love your work.
Scherezade Shroff: Or they start with, 'I'm not being rude..'
Lisa Mishra: Well, never trust a person who starts with that. 'No offence but….get a nose job. Also I love your music.' And I was just thinking, 'What direction are we going in? Pick an insult.'
Prajakta Koli: That's very similar to what I got. For the longest time, the comments on my videos were 'People are just laughing at her jokes because she's pretty.' I think, 'Is that hate? I can't tell. Thanks but, excuse me, what? For the longest time, people were like, 'We just like you because you're pretty. You're not really funny'
These excerpts were taken from a roundtable we did with some of the leading YouTubers. The full conversation will be out soon.