Mumbai: Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has addressed online chatter after reports surfaced claiming she had liked a social media post featuring fellow actor Deepika Padukone. Taking to her Instagram Story, the Odela 2 star clarified that Instagram appears to be engaging with content on her behalf.

"Can Instagram please figure out how it likes pages on its own? Random people are making it news and I have work to do," she wrote alongside a selfie, seemingly amused by the situation.

 

The post in question reportedly featured Deepika Padukone and highlighted issues such as the gender pay gap, misogyny, and unprofessional work environments — themes that have gained prominence amid an ongoing controversy involving Padukone and filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

The Spirit director recently posted a cryptic but fiery statement on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, which many believe was directed at Padukone, who was previously attached to the film but has reportedly stepped away from the project.

Without naming any individual, Vanga wrote:

"When I narrate a story to an actor, I place 100% faith. There is an unsaid NDA between us. But by doing this, you've ‘DISCLOSED’ the person that you are..."

In a pointed reference to a female lead being replaced, he added:

"Putting down a younger actor and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for? You didn’t get it. You won’t get it. You will never get it."

The timing and wording of the post have fuelled speculation, particularly given that Deepika Padukone was initially set to star opposite Prabhas in Spirit, and was later replaced by actress Triptii Dimri, who recently appeared in Vanga's hit film Animal.

Meanwhile, Tamannaah is not the first celebrity to be caught in an accidental “like” situation. Earlier this year, cricketer Virat Kohli issued a clarification after social media users noticed that his official Instagram account had liked a post from a fan page of actress Avneet Kaur. Kohli later explained on his Instagram Story that it was likely a result of the app's algorithm while he was clearing his feed.

"I'd like to clarify that while clearing my feed, it appears the algorithm may have mistakenly registered an interaction. There was absolutely no intent behind it," he wrote, requesting the public not to jump to conclusions.