Priyanka Chopra says she gets a lot of negativity from her ‘own community’

Priyanka Chopra, who has been focusing largely on international projects in the last few years, talked about the not-so-welcome response she has received from the South Asian community. She said that while a lot of people are protective of her, she also gets a 'sense of negativity' from many.

In a new interview, Priyanka said that she and the 'very few' other brown people in the entertainment industry are trying to push for inclusivity in Hollywood. However, they get a lot of negativity from their own community.

Talking to the BBC, Priyanka said, "I do notice a sense of protectiveness from a lot of people but also a sense of cynicism from a lot of people and a sense of negativity from a lot of people that have known me for a really long time. Picking on me for no reason…"

"I was talking about this to Mindy (Kaling) a couple of months ago and we were talking about why is it that you get so much negativity from your own community. Very few brown people are in the entertainment business in Hollywood, right? You can count us on your fingers. What our attempt is… We are literally, with our own two hands, trying to create more opportunity for people like us. So, why is there so much negativity for us?" she added.

Priyanka said that when she began headlining Quantico in 2015, she realised that it is 'not normal to people's consciousness that a leading man or woman can be Indian in a mainstream Hollywood show'. This is when she saw the difference in perception towards her and said that while she is grateful for the love and support of her fans, she feels 'disheartened and discouraged by the other side'.

Currently, Priyanka has a number of international projects in the pipeline, including Jim Strouse's Text For You, The Matrix 4, Amazon thriller series Citadel and a wedding comedy with Mindy.