Actress Trisha in Jallikattu row, says never opposed the sport

Targeted by pro-Jallikattu groups for her association with animal rights group PETA which opposes the bull taming sport, actress Trisha today said she has never spoken against Jallikattu. Some Jallikattu supporters yesterday briefly picketed the site of the shooting of Tamil film “Garjanai”, starring Trisha, in Sivaganga district, though the actress was not present there at that time.

Abusive text messages accompanied with images of Trisha wearing a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) T-shirt have gone viral on social media. The actress today asked if such an attitude was in line with Tamil culture. Supporters of Jallikattu have, while opposing the ban on the sport, maintained that it is part of their tradition.

“Disrespecting a woman and her family is Tamil culture? You should be ashamed to call urself a Tamilian or even speak about Tamil culture,” the actress said in another tweet. “Secondly, I have never spoken against Jallikattu at any given point. Thank u @iam_str for making my stand clear and talking up for me as always (sic),” she tweeted. She thanked Tamil actor Simbu (@iam_str) for standing up for her. Actor Simbu had said Trisha did not know that PETA will oppose Jallikattu. He had said it will be appropriate to talk about her good work in adopting homeless street dogs.

Trisha is an animal lover and advocate of animal rights. She had appeared in PETA advertisements supporting adoption of homeless dogs. PETA had been opposing Jallikattu and yesterday wrote to the President and the Prime Minister arguing against any ordinance for holding the bull taming sport in the state as demanded by the state government and others. The group has come under severe attack from Jallikattu supporters who even demanded that PETA be ‘banned’.