Priyanka Chopra landed up in a controversy after she wore a refugee T-shirt for a magazine cover. The top says, “REFUGEE, IMMIGRANT, OUTSIDER, TRAVELLER”. Fans all over didn’t really appreciate the idea of such a message. It was rather interpreted as offensive for the other three categories.
However, the magazine’s spokesperson cleared saying that, “ At Conde Nast Traveller, we believe that the opening up of borders and the breaking down of walls can help us discover the world, and open up our minds and hearts. So, when we had actress Priyanka Chopra wear a T-shirt we created on the cover of our 6th anniversary issue, we had a point to make. And it’s not about privilege. Or fashion. It’s about how our labelling of people as immigrants, refugees and outsiders is creating a culture of xenophobia. We are allowing thousands of innocent people who are forced to cross borders due to unimaginable terror and atrocities to be treated without humanity and empathy. It’s about how we are allowing some powerful leaders to build barriers that make it more difficult for bright, motivated and hardworking people to see more of the world, learn from it and make it better for us all.”
He further added, “It’s time we demand better, and stand against the building of walls, literal and otherwise. We must demand a world free of racism and bigotry and prejudice, so that we—and generations after us—may enjoy all the abundance that travel offers, the beauty of a world that is open and rich and diverse in its people and cultures and geographies. And we must, in the midst of our many differences, find and celebrate our commonalities, our oneness. We must recognize that we are all on a journey. Whether we are moving across oceans or just a few kilometers, or in our mind’s eye, into a completely different world, whether we are doing so due to free will or circumstance – that we are all travelers.”
He concluded, “And this is why Priyanka Chopra–a star at home and abroad, who has experienced firsthand the opportunities that travel offers—is the perfect ambassador.”
