Twitter is a gift that keeps on giving. Just a day after the controversy of Indian government, Bollywood actors and international personalities, Bear Grylls has drawn flak on social media for sharing his photo with Prime Minister Narendra Modi having a cup of tea at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.
He tweeted, “One of my favourite photos: soaking wet and sharing a cup of tea with Prime Minister Modi after our @Discovery jungle adventure together. This moment reminds me of how the wild is the ultimate leveller. We are all the same behind the titles and masks.” The post has been retweeted over 15,000 times since it was shared.
Many users are commenting on the timing of the post, with one user tweeting, “Why post this now,” and another wrote, “Because he was likely paid.”
One user wrote, “The timing of this is, honestly, shameful and unbelievably tone-deaf. Even if you don’t care about the human rights issue, who on earth in your publicity department thinks now is the perfect time to align yourself with this individual?”
The special edition of ‘Man vs Wild’ featuring PM Modi with adventurer Bear Grylls created history by garnering highest slot viewership (on active channels) with 3.69 million impressions overtaking GEC leader Star Plus with 3.67 million impressions.
Discovery Channel emerged as the third ranked channel with 3.05 million impressions behind Star Plus (3.67 million impressions) and Zee (3.3 million impressions). The premiere delivered the highest-ever sampling in the infotainment genre with 15.6 million tune-ins. Man Vs Wild is a wildly popular television series that shows Bear Grylls living on the bare minimum and surviving the wild without any food or contact with the outside world.
