Renu Desai Says She Has No Husband to Protect Her Amid Troll Attacks

Actor and activist Renu Desai has addressed the online trolling she has faced following her outburst at a recent press conference about street dogs. In a post on Tuesday, she shared a video of herself at the Varanasi ghat, writing, “I don’t have a father or mother or an elder brother or a husband to protect me. All the hate that you spew on me for no fault of mine I just calmly share with Devi and Mahadev. I know that they hear my pain and see my tears.”

She added a caption emphasizing her fight for justice for animals, saying, “I never fought for my own personal rights in public ever. But I will scream and shout till everyone understands that killing all innocent dogs just for the mistakes of some aggressive dogs is wrong and you can talk as much negative and hateful nonsense about me but just remember whose presence I share my pain and tears with.”

What Happened at the Press Conference
The controversy began on Monday when videos of Renu reportedly yelling at someone at the press meet went viral. She clarified that she was responding to a 55-year-old man who argued with her and tried to hit her. Renu called out trolls for dragging her personal life into the incident, writing, “How correct is it to comment on my personal life? You’re saying that’s why Pawan Kalyan left me, that I am cranky. Do I get any money while fighting for street dogs? I am not even fighting for them; I am fighting for human life.” She also condemned hateful remarks suggesting harm to her children.

Background
Renu Desai and actor-politician Pawan Kalyan were married from 2009 to 2012. They have two children, Akira (born 2004) and Aadhya (born 2010). Following their separation and divorce in 2011, Pawan married Russian national Anna Lezhneva in 2013, and they have two children, Polena Anjana Pawanovna (2013) and Mark Shankar Pawanovich (2017).