Theatre actor Ruby Anum has landed herself in hot water after making a series of disrespectful and ageist remarks about veteran actor Bushra Ansari during an appearance on Sabih Sumair’s podcast.
When the host, a man, insisted she comment on several women in the entertainment industry, from Mehwish Hayat and Sajal Aly, to Hania Aamir, Bushra Ansari and Asma Abbas, Anum’s responses went from questionable to downright insulting.
She praised Aly for her beauty, saying she would have made her her “sister-in-law if her brothers weren’t already married” (because apparently Aly’s consent in this imaginary scenario is a given). She then criticised Hayat for her “botox” and called Aamir “the pride of Pakistan”.
But when it came to veteran stars, her tone shifted sharply. “Bushra Ansari is my favourite. I like her a lot — if I say so, it would be a lie. She should rest at this age,” Anum said, before adding that Ansari’s vlogs “don’t suit her”. She even suggested Ansari should “fear Allah” for working in her later years, remarking, “She is older than our mothers.”
Her comments didn’t stop there. While she softened her stance on Ansari’s sister, Asma Abbas, she still managed to undermine her by questioning why she continues to act and even, shockingly enough, shop for clothes and shoes. Because how dare a woman care for herself after a certain age, right?
To make matters worse, Anum capped off her statements by suggesting Ansari wasn’t ‘beautiful’ enough to justify staying in the limelight. As if appearance determines an artist’s right to create and work.
Unsurprisingly, her remarks triggered a swift wave of backlash from fellow celebrities.
Actor Zhalay Sarhadi called her out, saying, “Incredibly out of line, intrusive, rude and disrespectful. Why must such people spew needless opinions? To get viral? Is that it? Such a disgrace.”
Mamya Shajaffar wrote, “Breaks my heart how women always bring other women down.”
Ghana Ali also weighed in, adding simply, “Ok, I found her extremely rude, period!”
Mishi Khan shared a detailed video response on Instagram, expressing disappointment: “Her comments were below the belt. I was so disappointed. It’s entirely Bushra Ansari’s call that she’s acting and vlogging at whatever age she is; she has, after all, maintained herself so well, MashaAllah. But using such language, and then saying you like her… that’s not okay.”She added, “You said yourself that Asma Abbas calls you to her show and gives you so much respect and protocol. You complimented her, too and then degraded [her]. What is this behaviour? You have a problem with them vlogging, you can start too. If you’re not interested and someone else is, someone else is interested in keeping themself fit or staying up to date, what is your issue?”
At the end of the day, the real question is why actors like Anum feel the need to police other women’s appearances and choices in the first place.
In an industry (and world) already saturated with misogyny, ageism and arbitrary beauty standards, piling on only makes it worse. If anything, women in entertainment should be uplifting each other, not parroting the same tired narratives that have been used to silence and sideline them for decades.
