Janhvi Kapoor felt ‘Sexualised’ by the Media when she was 12

Janhvi Kapoor spoke about feeling “sexualised” by the media when she was just 12.

The actress is gearing up for the release of Mr and Mrs Mahi and was joined by co-star Rajkummar Rao and Karan Johar in a new conversation.

Janhvi frequently faces unwarranted comments about her figure and the outfits she wears.

When Karan asked Janhvi about her reaction to the constant objectification she faces, Janhvi explained:

“I feel like this is also an aspect that I have been navigating for a long time.

“I think the first time I felt sexualised by the media was when I was 12-13 years old. I went for an event with mom and dad.

“There were pictures of me in the media and social media had just started.

“I found pictures of me in what seemed like a pornographic site, and boys in my school were like looking at it and laughing.”

Admitting she has been dealing with it for years, Janhvi continued:

“It is a very weird thing to navigate and I have been navigating it for a very long time.

“I think I am very apologetic about where I come from and I need to get over that.

“I am sure other people deal with it in a much more different sense.

“I still think the way I am explaining it and my experiences of it are very privileged.”

Highlighting her clashing thoughts, Janhvi said:

“On one hand, I do like dressing a certain way and I have been brought up in a household where I don’t feel apologetic about it, where I don’t feel judged by it.

“But I do understand that there is sentiment of a sort of character assassination that a girl faces when she dresses in a way that makes it seem like she is comfortable with her sexuality.”

Janhvi Kapoor previously spoke about finding morphed photos of herself on “inappropriate, almost pornographic pages” when she was a teenager.

As a Class 4 student, she entered her school’s computer lab one day to find paparazzi images of her on Yahoo’s homepage, flashing across the computer screens of her classmates.

This led to her being “alienated” by fellow pupils. Her teachers also “changed” towards her.

Janhvi said: “I don’t think they understood it so they started disliking me.

“I didn’t understand what was happening. My friends looked at me differently, they poked fun at me for not getting waxed…

“Many insinuated that I don’t have to work as I was famous anyway, weird taunts that I wouldn’t understand.

“Everyone kept asking me when I was leaving school and why I was on Yahoo.

“There was a lot of judgement, a lot of questioning of one’s self-worth from a very young age.”