Actor Samanta Ruth Prabhu's response to Konda Surekha over her comments regarding her divorce with Naga Chaitanya, had a strong message for the Telangana minister, advising her to be "responsible and respectful of individuals' privacy" and leave her "out of political battles".
The short note tacked to her Instagram hours after the minister's comment was scathing. It accused the minister of indulging in speculation, misrepresentation of facts and trivialisation of her journey as a woman.
"My divorce is a personal matter and I request that you refrain from speculating about it... To clarify: my divorce was mutual consent and amicable, with no political conspiracy involved," the actor wrote.
In a blistering attack on KT Rama Rao, son of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, earlier today, Ms Surekha linked him with the divorce of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and her former husband Naga Chaitanya.
She had also said he was the reason why many actresses left movies and married early. KT Rama Rao, she claimed, blackmailed film personalities after getting them addicted to drugs.
Naga Chaitanya is yet to respond. His father, Nagarjuna Akkineni, was first off the mark. In a message on X, formerly Twitter, the veteran Telugu actor said minister's remarks are "completely irrelevant and false" and demanded that she withdraws them.
"I strongly condemn the comments of the Honorable Minister Mrs. Konda Surekha. Don't use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize your opponents. Please respect other people's privacy," read a rough translation of his post.
"As a woman in a responsible position, your comments and accusations against our family are completely irrelevant and false. I request you to withdraw your comments immediately," he added.