Malala Yousafzai took to social media this morning after Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel was widely criticised for ‘harassing’ her during a bizarre segment at the awards ceremony.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, 25, who was a teenage education activist when she was shot in the face by Taliban militants in Pakistan in 2012, was left visibly uncomfortable when the presenter approached her during a break in proceedings.
Kimmel asked Ms Yousafzai, an executive producer of the short documentary Stranger At The Gate, an awkward question about Harry Styles and Chris Pine’s ‘spit-gate’ drama.
The filmmaker looked unsure and responded: ‘I only talk about peace.’
In the hours after the ceremony, she then took to Twitter and, sharing a video of the bizarre exchange, wrote: ‘Treat people with kindness.’
It came after the presenter read out a question from a fan named Joanne, saying: ‘She asked, your work on human rights and education for women and children is an inspiration. As the youngest Nobel prize winner in history, do you think Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine?’
After Ms Yousafzai’s deadpan response, breezy Kimmel retorted: ‘You know what, that’s why you’re Malala and nobody else is. That’s a great answer, Malala. The winner is Malala-land, everybody.’
Such a quip meant questions were raised today on whether the whole skit with the activist – including her retort that she only talks about peace – was pre-arranged beforehand.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘They aren’t ambushed. These are all planned and they agree to participate in advance.’
Another said: ‘Why is everyone so stuffy? Malala is allowed to have a sense of humor and perticipate in a lighthearted joke. And I would bet my last dollar that it was all staged and that she agreed to participate beforehand.’
The evening took a further awkward turn as an attendee dressed as ‘Cocaine Bear’ from the movie of the same name crawled down the aisle and began to pester Ms Yousafzai.
Kimmel called out: ‘Cocaine bear, leave Malala alone!’ as the activist looked on with worry.
Ms Yousafzai was a schoolgirl and activist for girls’ rights and education when the Pakistani Taliban hunted her down. They stopped her school bus and shot her in the face in 2012.
She was flown to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she was treated for several months, and two years later won the Nobel Peace Prize. She is known for human rights advocacy, and campaigns for the education of women and children in Pakistan. Fans quickly took to social media to slam Kimmel’s ‘disrespectful’ behaviour, with one writing: ‘I love @jimmykimmel but his interaction with Malala was one of the worst and most painful things I’ve seen on TV in so many years.’ Another wrote: ‘Watching the #Oscars from home, I was absolutely horrified with the interaction between @jimmykimmel and @Malala Jimmy, you were incredibly disrespectful.
One fan typed: ‘jimmy kimmel is a national disgrace. this woman deserves better’ while a second wrote: ‘why did jimmy kimmel and the cocaine bear just harass malala oh my god leave her alone.’ Another wrote: ‘I hope Jimmy Kimmel pays for making Malala answer that question. She deserves better than that!’
One fan wrote: ‘Malala looked so uncomfortable when jimmy kimmel was harassing her with his comedy’ while another penned: ‘Malala has a nobel peace prize and they have her dealing with cocaine bear and jimmy kimmel.’
Malala herself tweeted: ‘Treat people with kindness’ in response to the video.
She attended the ceremony in support of her nominated documentary, Stranger At The Gate, about an Afghan refugee and an Islamophobic US veteran who plans to bomb her mosque in Indiana. courtesy daily mail
