Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has become the topic of a debate on the internet after a video of him taking away a selfie-seeking fan’s phone at an award ceremony went viral.
The incident in question occurred at the 2026 Joy Awards in Riyadh.
During the ceremony, a fan approached Shah Rukh to take a selfie. However, the 60-year-old actor took away the fan’s phone and refused to honour his request, shows the video.
The short clip went viral in no time, dividing the internet over Shah Rukh’s reaction. While many criticised the actor, labelling the gesture as ‘dismissive’ or ‘arrogant’, his fans came to his defence, justifying his actions.
“It is absolutely not at all acceptable SRK behaviour… the countdown for his downfall starts,” wrote an angry X user.
But a fan was quick to defend the actor. “It’s just the etiquette of being on stage, too, and you also don’t know what instructions have been given by the security team and event organisers behind the stage.”
Another wrote, “Enough with this hate SRK paid campaign. Are you trying to convince me he's being criticised for respecting everyone in the room and letting the photographers do their job instead of doing a selfie with a random guy in the middle of the room?”
“Theyre (the fans beside Shah Rukh) making the cameraman and others wait. It's an event, selfies can be taken post-event,” reads another comment.
Shah Rukh was among the celebrities who made head-turning appearances at the annual award ceremony organised by the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) on Sunday (IST). Other celebrities, including Millie Bobby Brown, Katy Perry and Lee Byung-hun, also attended the event.
Khan attended the ceremony in a black zipped layered jacket and tailored trousers. The 60-year-old actor also presented the Honorary Award to Assala Nasri.
Shah Rukh is currently gearing up for Siddharth Anand’s highly anticipated film King, which will also star Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan and Jaideep Ahlawat in key roles.