Aditya Madhavan Backs Gouri Kishan, Says His ‘Silence Didn’t Mean Approval’ Amid Weight-Shaming Row

Tamil actor Gouri Kishan recently made headlines after she called out YouTuber Karthik for asking questions about her weight and body-shaming her. After the video of the incident went viral, her director Abin Hariharan and co-star Aditya Madhavan received flak for not stepping in and standing up for Gouri in the moment. Now, both of them have spoken about the incident and shared that they were ‘taken off guard’ when it happened.

Chinmayi Sripaada shared a clip of Gouri calling out the YouTuber and wrote, “Gouri did an amazing job. The moment you call out a disrespectful and unnecessary question — a whole lot of shouting down happens. So proud that someone so young stood her ground and pushed back. No male actor gets asked what his weight is.

No idea why they asked a female actor.”

Gowri did an amazing job. The moment you call out a disrespectful and an unnecessary question – a whole lot of shouting down happens.
So proud that someone so young stood her ground and pushed back.

No male actor gets asked what his weight is. No idea why they asked a female… pic.twitter.com/BtKO6U7lpQ

— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) November 6, 2025

Aditya reshared this clip and stated that his silence didn’t mean approval, saying, “Hi to all, my silence didn’t mean I approve body-shaming of anyone. I froze because it caught me off guard as it is my debut. I wish I’d stepped in sooner. She didn’t deserve that. No one does. Everyone deserves respect, regardless of who we are. I apologise once again.”

Her director Abin also shared the video on Instagram and captioned, “Sometimes, when conflicts strike unexpectedly, words lose direction. It’s not speechlessness — it’s just the space we take to understand what truly deserves our voice. I STAND WITH GOURI.”

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A post shared by Abin Hariharan (@abinhariharan) 

He said in the video, “I noticed that many people questioned why I didn’t speak up there. I am sorry because it was a shock for me too. I haven’t attended many press conferences, and I kept quiet because I thought if I spoke up while Gouri was speaking, it would turn into a bigger issue.”

“I stand with Gouri, and I believe that in such press meets, any questions beyond the film should be avoided. You can see in my film how much I respect women; no actress has had a cliché role in it,” he added.

The Incident That Sparked Outrage

At the event, a journalist asked Gouri’s co-star Aditya Madhavan about her weight, referencing a scene where he lifts her in the film. The question, framed as an observation about the scene, immediately drew gasps from the audience. Initially taken aback, Gouri later addressed the reporter directly, questioning the relevance and appropriateness of his comment.

“How does my weight concern you? How is it relevant to this movie?” she asked calmly but firmly. “Every woman has a different body type. I will let my talent speak. I’ve only done character-driven films so far. I don’t need your validation.”

When the journalist attempted to defend his question as “light-hearted,” Gouri refused to let it slide. “I did not find it funny,” she said. “Stop normalising body-shaming. It was a question about me; I have the right to have an opinion.”