Neha Bhasin, who was recently seen in Bigg Boss OTT (BB OTT), has been following Bigg Boss 15 (BB 15). She even put up a post on social media recently supporting Shamita Shetty and Pratik Sehajpal, her BB OTT co-contestants. Neha said, “I see the show in bits and pieces, and sometimes my fan pages tag me on some things. I am in touch with Shamita’s mother, too. I keep myself updated on what's happening in Bigg Boss 15.”

Referring to the age-shaming that seems to be rampant on the show, the singer said, “Firstly, we are told that we are all equal in the show. So, it shouldn’t matter whether a person is 20 or 40. But people’s ages are regularly brought up. I feel that age shaming happens more to women than men. I saw Shamita getting age shamed on BB OTT. People would call her chachi and say that she was old enough to be their mother. In BB 15, she was called aunty by Karan Kundrra. There are others who say such things as well.”

Neha added, “I don’t appreciate such ageshaming comments, which is why I addressed the issue on my social media handle. Even when I had come out of the BB OTT house, I was called aunty, daadi, buddhi, tharki, etc. Why would anyone use such words to age shame me? When we were kids, we would address our elders as uncle and aunty out of respect.”

So, what did she think of Pratik’s game on the show? “Everyone told me that Pratik mellowed down in BB OTT because of me, so I guess audiences should enjoy watching him being aggressive on BB 15. I suppose people want to see him that way. Having said that, I also feel that he is getting bullied on the show currently. BB OTT contestants were sent as troublemakers (sankat) for the new contestants living in a jungle set-up. So, he’s just doing his job. But one against 13 people is a little unfair. I do feel bad for him, but in BB, one has to play on the front foot, especially when everyone is against them,” she said.

For those unversed, Shamita and Pratik had a tiff on BB 15 given their different ways of handling situations. Neha, who is a friend to both, said, “Even in BB OTT, they didn’t get along at the beginning. Later, when I was Pratik’s connection, they started talking. I was the common link, which is why they were somehow cordial to each other. I don’t think they ever got along then as well, and their differences now don’t surprise me at all. I also feel that the new contestants are playing Shamita and she hasn’t realised that yet.”

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Winner of Bigg Boss 13, late Sidharth Shukla may have been the most popular contestant, but even he was age-shamed. Mahira Sharma, after a fight with Sidharth, called him ‘buddha’. She received serious backlash for her comment.

In season 14, Eijaz was age-shamed. On one occasion, during a task, Rahul Vaidya commented on his age saying, “Bhaago mat, umar ke liye achcha nahi hai (Don't run, it’s not good for your age).”

Bigg Boss 14 contestant Sonali Phogat, who was also age-shamed on the show, later in an interview, said, “I don’t understand this. If I have aged, does that mean I can’t work in the industry?”