'Power of Black': Amitabh's tweet on French footballers sparks row
What's the story
A recent tweet by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has sparked controversy amid the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026. The actor shared a post after the French national football team won against Paraguay, saying, "the FRENCH!! 11 players in team.. 10 Black..!! 1 white!!? the POWER of BLACK (sic)." The tweet quickly went viral with netizens sharing confused and upset reactions.
Backlash
Users call post insensitive, unnecessary
The tweet faced immediate backlash, with many accusing Bachchan of reducing the French team to their skin color. Critics argued that footballers should be recognized by their nationality, not their race. Some users labeled the framing as insensitive and unnecessary. One X user wrote, "He thought this was not racist (crying emojis)." Others highlighted France's multicultural identity, pointing out that many players were born and raised in France despite having African or Caribbean roots.
Mixed reactions
Controversy similar to 2018 incident
While some users defended Bachchan, arguing he was merely stating a fact, others insisted that the wording was the issue. The controversy echoes a similar incident in 2018 when France won the football World Cup for the second time. At that time, Bachchan had tweeted: "That's it then...AFRICA won the World Cup 2018!!!," referring to the number of African-origin players on that team. That post also faced criticism.