Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Julianne Hough, and Usher will be hosting the upcoming CBS show The Activist, the network announced on Thursday.
The competition series will have pairs of activists from the sectors of health, education, and the environment competing for a chance to present their cause at the G20 summit, that is scheduled to be held in Italy.
The show will premiere on October 22, reports Deadline. The five-week reality series will feature six activists from around the world, who are working to bring change to one of the three aforementioned sectors, going head-to-head in a series of challenges. The success of the participants will be measured in terms of online engagement, social metrics, and hosts’ opinion.
While the makers claim that the show will spread awareness about real issues, the announcement did not go over well with netizens, who are calling it out for pitting activists against one another for the purpose of entertainment and monetary gains.
Some Twitter users pointed out that instead of creating a show, the makers could have donated an amount towards a cause. English actor and activist Jameela Jamil wrote, “Couldn’t they just give the money it’s going to take to pay this unbelievably expensive talent and make this show, directly to activist causes? Rather than turning activism into a game and then giving a fraction of the much needed money away in a ‘prize’…? People are dying.”
The Guardian columnist and social movement lawyer Derecka Purnell said, “Oh no. This is a show about influencers, not activists.”
Some Indian netizens also called out Chopra for her alleged hypocrisy in agreeing to host this show while choosing to remain silent on the issues in India.
Journalist Vidya Krishnan wrote, “Priyanka Chopra, who has remained Modi’s supporter through thick and thin, as he jailed students, activists, poets and intellectuals in India… is hosting The Activist show to promote social justice in America! The hypocrisy is nauseating.”
Neither CBS nor the three artists have commented on the backlash yet.
