Subsequently magazine has withdrawn article and apologised
MUMBAI MIRROR (December 6, 2018)

A section of the New York Times Magazine, The Cut, purports to ‘showing the world what women are made of’. On Wednesday, the editors of The Cut got a good sense of what the Indian twitterati is made of after they ran a sexist and unsubstantiated hatchet job on Priyanka Chopra.

PeeCee legions of admirers flooded Twittter with complaints about the poorly reported piece that called the actress a “global scam artiste” and presented Nick Jonas as some sort of poor sod with no agency of his own, who had been hoodwinked into marriage with Priyanka against his will.

Actresses Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Swara Bhasker, and singer Sona Mohapatra, have all criticised Mariah Smith for “racist” article. “For a publication that ‘shows women what they are made of’, The Cut has a lot to answer for. The article on Priyanka was sexist, racist and disgusting. Also, it’s written by a woman which is so sad. It reeks of envy and bitterness. Mariah, shame on you,” Sonam tweeted.

Swara expressed her disappointment on the micro-blogging site, saying, “Depressed with the state of the world and current affairs? Here is some good old fashioned puerile filth published by The Cut to add some pointless venom to your day. Also, someone invite Mariah to an Indian wedding, might assuage some of her misguided angst! Yellow Journalism!”

In the article, Smith wrote Priyanka’s “indulgences and what she views as necessities speak volumes to her personality and what she’ll do, or think she needs to do, for her career…” She scammed the couple, who got married in Jodhpur last week, saying they had their high profile wedding just to make money. A “shocked” Vinta Nanda reacted to the write-up saying, ““What does the writer mean by saying that he is gotten married against his will to a fraudulent relationship? Does the writer not see in pictures that it was one of the most beautiful weddings ever?”

Sona found the article “deeply disgusting” and said that to “character assassinate a hardworking, driven, achiever like Priyanka Chopra in this warped, petty manner” and for The Cut to publish such a low-brow piece is the lowest of the lows.

Nick’s brother Joe also called it disgusting and tweeted that “The”Cut should be ashamed to have someone write such evil words. What Nick & Pri have is Beautiful Love. Thank u, Next.” His fiancée Sophie Turner echoed his sentiments, “This is wildly inappropriate and totally disgusting. Very disappointed that The Cut would give anyone a platform to spew such bullshit.”

The piece has since been withdrawn. The editor’s note stated, “Upon further editorial review, we found this story did not meet our standards. We’ve removed it and apologize.”

Christian wedding today, second on Sunday
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 1, 2018)

Celebrations for Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas’s four-day wedding kicked off soon after they landed in Jodhpur on Thursday. The guests mingled over lunch and cocktails after being welcomed with garlands and a song-and-dance performance put up by a group of Rajasthani artistes. In their rooms, goodie bags waited with a card requesting them to not carry their mobile phones to any of the events. A wedding card titled ‘Indian wedding for dummies’ with ‘your handy dandy Indian Wedding primer’ written on it furnished information on ceremonies that constitute an Indian wedding, including sangeet, mehendi, baraat and food.

Friday began with mehendi in the garden of Umaid Bhawan Palace with the Desi Girl dressed in a multicoloured outfit and guests grooving to Hindi songs. The groom-to-be rehearsed on “Galla Goodiyan” from PeeCee’s Dil Dhadakne Do with his friends for his performance that would be a part of sangeet in the evening. While the theme for the sangeet was black, gold and silver, PeeCee’s friends, including Quantico co-star Yasmine Al Massri, joined her to perform on Dostana’s “Desi Girl”, while many of the actress’s other hit tracks also played.

“As of now, no functions are scheduled to be held at the Mehrangarh Fort. While the Christian wedding takes place today, the Indian-style ceremony is planned for Sunday. Six stalls of clothes, shoes and jewellery, including that of Jaipur-based designer Punit Balana and designers Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla have been set up for the baraatis to choose their outfits,” informs a source.

Well-known wedding photographer Jose Villa is the designated photographer for the wedding. Nick’s father, Paul Kevin Jonas, will reportedly officiate the Christian wedding while PeeCee’s favourite designer, Ralph Lauren, whose creations she and her beau wore to the MET Gala last year, is said to have designed her wedding gown.

Among the star guests at the Nickyanka nuptials are internet sensation Lilly Singh aka Superwoman, American actor Jonathan Tucker, VJ Anusha and her actor-boyfriend Karan Kundrra who arrived in Jodhpur on Thursday. Veteran make-up artist Mickey Contractor, singer Manasi Scott and designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee turned up a day later. Salman Khan’s sister Arpita arrived on Friday with son Ahil while her actor-husband Aayush Sharma had to give the event a miss owing to a leg injury. 

Divya Kaushik and Neha Choudhary (BOMBAY TIMES; December 1, 2018)

The much-awaited #Nickyanka wedding celebrations began with the couple and their friends and family arriving in Jodhpur on Thursday morning. Among the first ones to arrive were Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, with Nick’s brother Joe and his actress fiancée, Sophie Turner. Other members of their families also arrived soon after. For the guests, there were around 10 attendants (from the event management company) waiting at a booth set up inside the airport to help them with their luggage and transport. One of Nick’s friends who flew in from LA told us, “This looks grand. We all are so excited about five days of celebrations. This will be a special wedding.” The two will reportedly get married in a Christian ceremony today, which will be officiated by Nick’s father, and a Hindu ceremony on December 2, for which Nick will arrive on a horseback.

STAFF AND VENDORS SIGN NDAs, PHONE CAMERAS TAPED UP
Priyanka and Nick have made the wedding management company, vendors, staff of Umaid Bhawan Palace and everyone else, even remotely associated with the wedding prep, sign confidentiality agreements to prevent any details from leaking.

According to our sources, the 10 page non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prevents anyone from posting anything on social media, taking pictures and even talking about the wedding to anyone not invited for it. If the agreement is breached, one will have to pay their entire bill amount as penalty. For instance, if a vendor’s bill is Rs 20 lakh for the services he has provided for the wedding, as a penalty, he will have to pay the entire amount. Like it happened at Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh’s wedding, mobile phones have also been banned.

As per sources, there was a family brunch and cocktail dinner on Thursday. The venue, Umaid Bhawan Palace, was all lit up for the grand event and the security outside the entrance was so strict that no one was even allowed to wait or stand on the road leading to the Palace. The security guards informed us that taking pictures even outside the venue was not allowed and those working for the wedding prep have been strictly told not to take any pictures. “Cell phone cameras have been covered with tape so that no one can take any pictures. Everyone has been strictly instructed to not discuss the wedding details with anyone,” a member from the event management company, who was stationed outside the airport told us.

Even guests at the airport refused to say anything about the wedding. “I am not saying anything,” said actor Karan Kundrra, as he walked out of the Jodhpur airport with girlfriend Anusha Dandekar. The hair and make-up team that flew in from Mumbai told us, “We are not supposed to talk to anyone about the wedding.”

Umaid Bhawan Palace has flown in management staff from across India, especially for Priyanka and Nick’s wedding. One of the staff members told us, “We have come from different properties of the hotel group across India to be a part of the management team at Umaid Bhawan Palace.”

PRIYANKA’S MEHENDI IS FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER, WHO PROVIDED HENNA FOR AISHWARYA RAI AND LIZ HURLEY’S WEDDINGS
Around 5.5 kg of henna has been ordered from a Sojat-based henna manufacturer for Priyanka’s mehendi function. Nitesh Agarwal, owner, shared, “Around a month ago, a few people from the wedding management team and a beautician, who had good knowledge of henna, came to to meet us. They took samples of our henna and after that, they gave us the final order. One week ago, 5.5 kg of henna packets were sent from Sojat to Mumbai.” The same manufacturer supplied henna for Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan’s wedding and also for Liz Hurley’s wedding in Udaipur.

Sojat, also known as Mehandi Nagri, is the main henna producing area of India, and over 90% of the country’s annual production takes place here.

#NICKYANKA’S DELHI RECEPTION ON DECEMBER 4
After winding up celebrations in Jodhpur, the couple and their families will reach Delhi on December 4, say sources. The Delhi reception will be held at a five-star hotel and apart from Priyanka’s family in Delhi, some of her close friends are expected to attend the reception.






Nick Jonas’ parents, Denise Miller-Jonas and Paul Kevin Jonas, Sr, at the Jodhpur airport on Thursday; (Left) Nick’s elder brother Kevin Jonas was also spotted at the airport with wife Danielle Jonas