Hyderabad : Telugu actor Naga Chaitanya slammed Telangana Congress Minister Konda Surekha for her remarks about his divorce from ex-wife and actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu.
Taking to his X account on Wednesday, the actor issued a statement, calling Surekha's allegations "absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable." He added that the decision about his divorce was mutual.
"The decision of divorce is easily one of the most painful and unfortunate life decisions one has to make. After a lot of thought, a mutual decision was made by me and my former spouse to part ways. It was a decision made in peace, owing to our different life goals and in the interest of moving forward with respect and dignity as two mature adults," his statement read.
Addressing the rumors as "baseless and completely ridiculous," the actor added, "However, there have been various baseless and completely ridiculous gossips on the matter so far. I have remained silent all this while out of deep respect for my earlier spouse as well as my family."
Lashing out at Surekha, Naga said, "Today, the claim made by Minister Konda Surekha garu is not only false, it is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable. Women deserve to be supported and respected. Taking advantage and exploiting personal life decisions of celebrities for the sake of media headlines is shameful."
Earlier on Wednesday, Samantha Ruth Prabhu also responded to Surekha's remarks, stating that her divorce was a "personal matter."
Samantha took to her Instagram story on Wednesday evening to issue a statement, clarifying that her divorce was based on "mutual consent and amicable" terms, with no political conspiracy involved. She also requested people to stop speculating about her divorce.
"To be a woman, to come out and work, to survive in a glamorous industry where women are more often than not treated as props, to fall in love & to fall out of love, to still stand up and fight... It takes a lot of courage and strength," the statement read.
This came after Congress leader, K Surekha linked KTR to the separation of Samantha and Naga Chaitanya, and alleged that KTR used to tap the phones of the actresses and blackmail them.
Speaking to the media, Surekha said, "It is KT Rama Rao because of whom (actress) Samantha's divorce happened...He was a minister at that time and used to tap the phones of the actresses and then find their weaknesses to blackmail them...He used to make them drug addicts and then do this...Everyone knows this, Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, his family, everybody is aware that such a thing happened."
Surekha's remarks sparked massive controversy, with several BRS leaders as well as superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni condemning the remarks.