Bollywood star Salman Khan’s reality show Bigg Boss 18 was slammed by animal rights activists after it featured a donkey as a contestant.
Days earlier, the makers of the controversial reality show left viewers in shock after revealing a donkey as the 19th contestant of season 18. The Big Boss 18 makers named the donkey ‘Gadhraj’ and was kept inside the house, triggering the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in India.
Reacting to the move, PETA requested Salman Khan and the makers to avoid using animals as props for entertainment on the show.
Shaurya Agrawal, an advocacy associate with PETA, in a letter to the Bollywood star, emphasied that people were ‘deeply distressed’ about keeping a donkey in the Bigg Boss 18 house.
“We are being inundated with complaints by members of the public who are deeply distressed over the keeping of a donkey in the Bigg Boss house. Their concerns are valid and must not be ignored,” the letter read. Agrawal urged Salman Khan to utilise his influence as the show’s host to hand over the donkey to PETA India. The PETA activist asserted that the use of an animal on the Bigg Boss 18 set is no ‘laughing matter.’
“Society has evolved and the caring public finds the use of animals on shows sad, not funny. Please take the steps suggested in this letter to show that Bigg Boss recognises animals deserve our compassion and respect,” he pinned.
It is worth mentioning that the contestants are looking after ‘Gadhraj’ as part of their daily activities in Bigg Boss 18 which premiered on October 6, 2024.
The show’s contestants include Muskan Bamne, Chum Darang, Hemlata Sharma, Vivian Dsena, Eisha Singh, Rajat Dalal, Gunaratna Sadavarte, Nyrraa Banerjee, Karan Veer Mehra, Avinash Mishra, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, Shrutika Arjun Raaj, Shehzada Dhami, Shilpa Shirodkar, Sara Arfeen Khan, Chaahat Pandey, Alice Kaushik and Arfeen Khan.