Actor Zeenat Aman recently expressed her dissatisfaction with a luxury brand for asking her to become associated with them on social media for a small amount. She also mentioned the brand’s sloppily-worded and incomplete messages on social media, which make her feel devalued and disrespected. Aman’s candid and open-minded approach to social media has earned her a reputation for speaking truth to power.
“Last-minute invitations that the organizer forgot to edit (and which are addressed to another celebrity who must have declined) are mildly insulting,” Zeenat wrote in a part of her post on Instagram. The actor has a highly engaged social media audience, which is why she believes that brands should value her worth and pay fair compensation for her contributions. Her full post read:
“Thank you, but no thank you.
I can’t tell you my precise worth, but I do know when I’m being undervalued.
Amidst the barrage of collaboration and appearance requests that materialise in my inbox each day, there are some that stand out for unpleasant reasons. Last minute invitations that the organiser forgot to edit (and which are addressed to another celebrity who must have declined) are mildly insulting. Impolite emails with minimal details and brusque “share commercials” are infuriating. And shady proposals to post stories or comments without the paid partnership tag are distasteful.
Yet none of these compare to the impudence of multimillion dollar brands that expect my endorsement in exchange for “brand association” and a ludicrously low fee. Such luxury brands pay an eye watering penny to their ambassadors (one of whom beautifully reprised a role I originally played), and sell even their most basic item for multiple lakhs of rupees. In their outreach to me they do not fail to express their admiration, with generous terms such as “icon” and “fashion inspiration”. But when it comes to actually compensating me for my time, energy, reputation and reach… the well runs dry.
I am over 70 years old, and I have held my own in this industry for over half a century. I work with what I know to be an unusual professionalism. I have a social media audience that is not only entirely organic, but so beautifully engaged. I have immense respect for myself, and for you who follow my page.
I am certainly worth more than the price of a designer handbag or high-heel shoe (sic).”
It is interesting to see how Zeenat Aman, who has spent around 50 years in the film industry, has to raise her voice against unfair practices. But, trust her to do just that. She is definitely the icon that she is celebrated as.
