Sunny Leone rarely seems to leave the spotlight. The Indo-Canadian actress who made her reputation in the adult movie industry has made a surprisingly smooth transition to Bollywood, receiving the sort of mainstream popularity that few "mature entertainment" stars have managed before. Communist Party of India leader Atul Anjan seemed to be begging for trouble when he claimed on Thursday that a condom ad featuring Leone would lead to more rapes in India.

At a rally in Ghaziabad, Anjan blamed Leone for the popularity of porn in the country.

“Now there is an advertisement with her, have you seen it?” he was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. “She is lying down...and a man comes to her. [The advertisement is broadcast] in the morning, at night...an advertisement for condoms, it is such a dirty and horrific advertisement that develops your sexuality and destroys your sensibility.”

He added: “If such advertisements for condoms appear in the country’s TV channels and newspapers, then incidents of rape will increase. It needs to be stopped."

It didn't take long for Anjan’s comments to be criticised. After all, researchers have repeatedly asserted that there is no link between the use of pornography and the incidence of rape. Besides, the Indian Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have the right to consume pornography in private. The politician was forced to apologise.

That said, Anjan's expression of contrition was half-hearted at best. He reiterated that the government should stop the broadcast of such ads.

 

 

Twitter users couldn't resist the opportunity to attack Anjan with sarcasm and humour. Here’s a selection of comments.












All the social media outrage didn’t stop others from joining forces with Anjan. Manoj Tiwari, Member of Parliament from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party jumped in to echo Anjan’s comments, claiming that "everyone feels ashamed" at watching Leone on the screen.