Published 11:34 IST, February 7th 2021
Rihanna paid $2.5 million for tweet & Greta's toolkit part of plot? Accused group responds
Canada-based PJF has issued a statement denying claims that it paid money to pop star Rihanna or any other celebrities for supporting farmers' protest in India.
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Canada-based Poetic Justice Foundation (PFJ), which has come under scanner for its alleged involvement in creating a 'toolkit' which was tweeted and later deleted by environment activist Greta Thunberg, has issued a statement denying claims that it paid money to pop star Rihanna or any other celebrities for supporting farmers' agitation in India.
A joined statement issued by Mo Dhaliwal and Anita Lal, co-founders of PFJ, said it "did not coordinate Rihanna, Greta Thunberg or any number of specific celebrities to tweet about the farmers' protest".
"We didn’t pay anyone to tweet — and certainly didn’t pay anyone $2.5m to do so. However, we did generally encourage the entire world to share this issue. Through the international collective of organizers we encouraged the world to pay attention and amplify this message," the statement shared on its website read.
The Poetic Justice Foundation further denied coordinating any protest activities occurring in India. "Up to India’s Republic Day and beyond — whether at Red Fort in Delhi or elsewhere in the country — we were not involved in directing or fomenting any protest activity of any sort within India,” they said.
The PFJ founders went on to say that the allegations against their organisation were a concerted effort and a purposeful distraction from the issue of farmers' protest.
“It is our hope that Indian media and government will invest their time and significant resources to address the real issues of the moment: stopping the violence being committed against the farmers and their supporters who are agitating for their rights,” the statement added.
This denial comes after the toolkit in question was whitewashed to remove all references to planning for Republic day, which had been done meticulously and at scale, in an effort to shame and circle India at a global stage.
PJF denies links with Rihanna, Greta & R-Day violence
Various reports that surfaced after Rihanna's controversial tweet claimed that Canada-based PJF played a vital role in launching a global campaign against India, with the backing from political leaders and activists from around the world.
After Rihanna's tweet snowballed into a big controversy, the Ministry of External Affairs released a statement slamming "vested interest groups" trying to enforce their agenda on the protests. Unlike Greta Thunberg, who has doubled down inspite of her toolkit essentially scoring a self-goal, Rihanna has not tweeted any follow-ups or issued any statements to that effect.
11:34 IST, February 7th 2021