Former actor and television host Nida Yasir recently took the guest chair at host Shaista Lodhi’s podcast where she addressed celebrities who criticise morning shows for their content. Slamming such remarks as disingenuous and hypocritical, Nida asserted that her shows are not meant to cater to celebrities.

“My husband is a director so I hear stories from drama sets where actors frequently sit together and disparage morning shows,” the host divulged. “I have resigned a couple of times before and the same people who criticised my morning show called the management to keep me as the host.” 

The Nadaaniyaan actor set the record straight that her shows are intended for the wider public. “We don’t do morning shows for celebrities. We do this for the public,” she stated. Nida outlined the underlying hypocrisy of such reactions, insisting that the same critics rely on morning shows’ popularity to market their brands when the opportunity calls.

The Good Morning Pakistan host furthered on, “When the same celebrities want their brands promoted, they call us and ask us to invite them to our shows.” Reiterating her content’s target consumers, she specified, “I do shows for my audience. No matter what anyone says, I’m genuine towards my audience.”

Hinting at the flak certain segments from her morning show receive despite their considerable viewership, Nida firmly remarked, “If they want a wedding week, I’ll give them that. If they want to see makeup [segments]. I’ll show them that because my channel has hired me for the audience. So I am not going to think that ‘Nida doesn’t like makeup’ or ‘Nida doesn’t like wedding week.’”

Earlier, an episode from Nida’s morning show made waves on social media for highlighting the societal shock and scrutiny faced by job-seeking men when their proposals are taken to prospective partners’ homes. The unrealistic expectation of finding a young, settled man was criticised, emphasising the need for a more pragmatic outlook.

She pointed out that societal expectations and criticisms extend to men who, despite their educational qualifications, may encounter difficulties in securing a stable job. “Women do receive taunts,” she said, “but a boy is severely hurt when, after studying, he looks for a job, his career isn’t stable – there, he, too, must bear taunts…He, too, bears taunts in this society, not just women.”

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