Vijay Deverakonda reacts to rumoured girlfriend Rashmika Mandanna’s deepfake video: 'This shouldn't happen to anyone'

Ishaan Khatter has also responded to Rashmika Mandanna's viral video and said that 'using somebody's body or voice without their consent' is not okay.

A deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna left celebs and fans shocked, with many, including actors Amitabh Bachchan and Mrunal Thakur calling for legal action. Now, Rashmika's rumoured boyfriend, actor Vijay Deverakonda, too, has responded to the viral clip. He said what happened to Rashmika 'shouldn't happen to anyone' and called for stringent punishment. In an interview with NDTV, actor Ishaan Khatter also weighed in the controversy surrounding Rashmika’s clip.

Vijay Deverakonda calls for punishment in response to viral Rashmika Mandanna clip.

Vijay reacts to Rashmika’s deepfake video

Sharing a news article titled 'Government cracks down on deepfakes after viral Rashmika Mandanna video', Vijay wrote, "Extremely important steps for the future. This shouldn't happen to anyone. Also, an efficient accessible cyber wing for quick crackdowns and punishment will make people more secure.”

What Ishaan Khatter said

Ishaan Khatter reacted to Rashmika Mandanna's deepfake video by saying, "I condemn it. I don't think deepfake is cool. I don't think using somebody's body or voice without their consent is ok. I don't bat for that."

Rashmika's viral video

The viral video shows a woman dressed in black in an elevator. Her face has been edited using artificial intelligence (AI) to resemble Rashmika. The person in the said video is a British woman named Zara Patel.

After many on social media expressed shock and anger over Rashmika's deepfake video, the actor responded to it via a tweet on Tuesday. The actor thanked her family, friends and well wishers, but admitted 'the deepfake video of her being spread online was extremely scary'.

She wrote, "I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused."

The actor further said, "Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft."

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