Death Threats Over Messi Post? Subhashree Ganguly Breaks Silence, Defends Her Children

Bengali actress Subhashree Ganguly was subjected to widespread mocking for selfies with football icon Lionel Messi at his GOAT India Tour 2025 at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, when the event descended into chaos. 

With over 60,000 people trying to catch a sight of Messi, inadequate crowd management caused chaos, forcing the footballer to leave the stadium early as irate supporters threw bottles and chairs in despair.

Subhashree responded to the controversy after her images with Messi by posting a video on Instagram that addressed the matter. She added that she had gotten an invitation to see Messi and arrived at the allocated hotel about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, where she met him for the first time and photographed him between 10:00 and 10:15 a.m. 

As she was ready to depart, Messi’s PR staff asked her to travel to Salt Lake Stadium, stating that numerous preparations had been made surrounding Messi and that it would be more convenient if she joined them.

Subhashree reported that she watched the scenario at the stadium become hostile when Messi arrived about 11:30 a.m., and that the organisers bear full responsibility for the event. 

“I was seated in a tent near the pitch and could not see Messi. So, how would you have seen him? But, was I on the pitch? Did I get in your way? The way I’m being chastised is as if I were standing next to Messi on the ground. What’s my fault? Is it my responsibility for going to a hotel and taking photos? It might have been my fault that the images were posted at the incorrect time owing to a technical issue,” she noted.

Expressing her dissatisfaction with being harassed on social media, she questioned if she was being targeted just because she is a woman or because she is a Bengali cinema star.

The actress said, “Kareena Kapoor also left Bollywood. Didn’t Shah Rukh Khan go to take photographs? What’s my fault? I am being tormented by being referred to as someone’s ex-girlfriend. It is almost 2026. Women, too, address other women in this manner. Have you determined this is how you will treat me?

Subhashree concluded the video by saying that she understood people’s feelings, which is why she originally tried to take the criticism she received in stride. Raising her voice, she said that she felt people were simply expressing their frustrations, which would make them feel better. 

She did, however, explain that her children had become targets of abuse, with threats made to harm her two small children. Subhashree has expressed unequivocally that she would not tolerate this under any circumstances as a mother.