Amitabh Bachchan shares 'breaking news' of bat landing in his room at Jalsa; triggers row

People have been venting out at the practice of eatings bats, and bats in general amid reports that the coronavirus originated via this practice. Emraan Hashmi was one of the celebrities who had fumed at the ‘freakish culinary experience’ as the world  suffered because of COVID-19. While that was directed at the practice of eating bats, Amitabh Bachchan feared the mammal itself when it landed at the actor’s residence.

READ: Amitabh Bachchan's Highlights Of The Week: From Wishing Ramadan To Sharing His Own Animoji

Big B took to Twitter on Saturday to share ‘news of the hour’ , ‘breaking news’ about a ‘chamgadar’ landing into his ‘den’, at his third-floor room at bungalow Jalsa in Juhu, Mumbai. The veteran quipped that he found it hard to shoo it away, terming it as ‘corona’ and that it was not ready to leave at all.

Here’s the post

While a section of the netizens laughed over it, and some expressed concern for him, many of them were not pleased. They accused him of ‘demonising’ and ‘dooming’ the species and added that it was in ‘poor taste.’ Some shared reports of bats not being harmful, that it will not transmit the virus and that it was wrong to pin the blame on them. 

He was also urged to ‘undo the damage.’

READ: Amitabh Bachchan To Be Back With 'Kaun Banega Crorepati 12' Post Lockdown?

Here are the reactions:

This is not the first time that Amitabh Bachchan has got flak during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Shahenshah has been accused of sharing ‘WhatsApp forwards’, like stating that the practice of clapping or hitting an object succeeding in creating vibrations to kill the virus, and another of the map of the world in which only India was lit, when citizens lit diyas to express solidarity in the fight against COVID-19.

READ: South African Care Facility Supported By Amitabh Bachchan In COVID-19 Controversy

Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan has lent support to various initiatives in the COVID-19 fight. He has taken up the cause of providing food packets in Mumbai amid the lockdown and also contributed to a fund initiated by Chiranjeevi to help the daily wage workers of the Telugu film industry. Big B also shot numerous informational videos related to the pandemic.

The connection of bats to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic is yet to be confirmed. While Coronaviruses are and have been found in bats - multiple strains in fact - it is as yet undetermined whether the Covid-19 variant that is wreaking havoc across the world came about because of bat consumption in some way, or because of some other reason such as if it was leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. There have been various theories put forth, with countries also seeking a probe to determine the exact origin of the outbreak.

READ: Amitabh Bachchan Poses An Important Question Regarding 'films' Amid Isolation; Read Here