Meera Claps Back at Journalist Who Called Her ‘Psycho’ at Film Premiere

Lollywood star Meera fires back after a reporter’s disrespectful remark at the Psycho premiere, sparking a wave of fan support and a larger conversation about press conduct in Pakistan.

At a recent premiere of her film Psycho, produced under her own banner Red Lipstick, veteran Lollywood actress Meera found herself at the center of an uncomfortable exchange that quickly went viral. A Pakistani film journalist approached her on the red carpet and made a remark that crossed every line of professional decorum — telling her, “She was a psycho, and while playing a psycho, she became a psycho. And even now, she hasn’t been able to come out of that psycho getup.” The comment, delivered in front of cameras, visibly upset the actress, who did not hold back in her response.

Meera has been a defining face of Pakistani cinema since her debut in the 1990s, starring in hits like Chief Saab, Khilona, Khoey Ho Tum Kahan, Inteha, and Baaji. Over the decades, she has built a reputation as one of Lollywood’s most bankable and versatile stars, unafraid to take on bold roles. Her production house, Red Lipstick, represents her ambition to tell stories on her own terms, with Psycho being the latest project to emerge from that vision.

Rather than brushing off the journalist’s remark, Meera confronted it head-on. “Look, listen to me. If you won’t give us respect, then it’s okay because we get a lot of respect in India,” she said, her voice steady but firm. “You called me a psycho. You people don’t give us respect; we don’t get respect here in Pakistan.” She then pivoted to seriously discussing her character in Psycho and praised the director’s vision, demonstrating the professionalism the journalist had failed to show. The exchange, captured in a video shared by @lahoreandbeyond_ on Instagram, spread rapidly across social media platforms.

The public reaction was swift and overwhelmingly in Meera’s corner. Social media users flooded comment sections with support, calling out the journalist’s behavior as beneath the dignity of the profession. “Who the hell is he to call her that?” one user wrote. Another commented, “Such useless journalists should not be given interviews.” A third offered a broader critique: “Journalism in the world is different from Pakistan; here it often goes below the belt.” Several fans echoed Meera’s sentiment about the treatment of artists, with one noting, “Meera was right. They don’t give respect to our artists and women.” The incident has reignited a necessary conversation about the standards of entertainment journalism in Pakistan and the respect owed to the artists who sustain the industry.