Rohit Sharma Fans Furious Over Vada Pav Meme; #BoycottSwiggy Trends On Twitter

One of India’s largest online food ordering and delivery platforms, Swiggy is facing flak on Twitter for mocking batting superstar Rohit Sharma in a distasteful meme. Swiggy reposted a meme shared by an IPL fan on Twitter ahead of the Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders match on April 13. The meme shows a photoshopped image of MI skipper Rohit Sharma, leaning in for food at a ‘Vada Pav’ stall. Swiggy captioned the image as “Haters will say it’s photoshopped.” The tweet created a storm on social media and caught the attention of furious Rohit Sharma fans. They criticised the app for disrespecting the cricketer. And thus, #Boycott Swiggy started trending on social media. Here’s more to the story.

Rohit Sharma Fans Angry Over Distasteful Meme Circulated During IPL Match
Since time and again, trolls have targetted Indian cricketers for their physique by creating memes and spreading negative comments. India’s batting superstar, Rohit Sharma has been body-shamed on several occasions. Recently, a doctored image of the righthanded batsman reaching out for vada pav at a vada pav stall has gone viral. Online food delivery aggregator Swiggy reposted the meme created by an IPL fan and captioned it as “Haters will say it’s photoshopped”, on Twitter. The tweet went viral and Rohit Sharma fans took offence to the distasteful meme. One irked fan stated, “Disrespect to India’s National Team Vice Captain and Idol for millions of young cricketers is unacceptable and intolerable. It can’t be tolerated. I will never order food from this sh*t platform.”

#BoycottSwiggy Trends On Twitter
Many Rohit Sharma fans shared similar viewpoints and called for boycotting Swiggy. So, on April 14 morning, #BoycottSwiggy became a top trending hashtag. Swiggy put out a clarification later stating “A special message to the Hitman’s fans We reposted a fan’s tweet in good humour. While the image was not created by us, we do admit it could’ve been worded better. It was not meant to offend anyone in the least. Needless to say, we’re always with the Paltan.” Despite the hot-cold apology issued, the damage is already done. And it will take some time to calm down Rohit Sharma fans.

Meanwhile, the vada pav analogy came up when during the pre and post-match analysis of IPL 2020, veteran cricketer Virender Sehwag referred to the Mumbai Indians chief as ‘Vada Pav’, taking a dig over the former’s fitness. The remarks made by Sehwag created a storm on social media and fans lashed out at the former cricketer.