The perplexing politics of Priyanka Chopra, who has been called 'hypocritical' for her patriotic statements

• Priyanka Chopra is a Bollywood and Hollywood A-lister with a philanthropic streak. 
• However, the actress has raised eyebrows with her politics, which center on backing her native India at particularly tense moments with countries like Pakistan. 
• After she was confronted by a fan who said she appeared to be encouraging nuclear war, Chopra has said she does not support war, but is "patriotic" and did not back down from supporting her native India. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Priyanka Chopra is known for her career that has spanned acting, modeling, and activism. 

In addition to maintaining A-list status in entertainment capitals Bollywood and Hollywood, Chopra has served as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador since 2016 and touted her philanthropic and feminism-centric work, even saying she would love to run for Prime Minister of India one day. 

However, Chopra's forays into political commentary haven't always gone off without criticism. 

Chopra first raised eyebrows when she expressed support for India's armed forces on Twitter, writing "Jai Hind," which loosely translates to "Hail India." The tweet came the same day as an airstrike on a suspected terrorist camp in Pakistan as retaliation for a suicide car bombing attack that had killed 40 Indian troops. 

The Pakistan Air Force later responded to the strike by shooting down two Indian fighter jets, which piled on to mounting tensions between the countries, which were already approaching the brink of nuclear war. 

The February tweet came months before Chopra told The Sunday Times in June 2019 that she has tried to stay out of politics throughout her life because she likes to "cheer for humanity." 

However, Chopra came face-to-face with a critics at an August 2019 BeautyCon event in Los Angeles, where she was confronted by a woman in the crowd who took the microphone to ask a question before calling Chopra a hypocrite for touting peace, while "encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan."

"It was hard hearing you talk about humanity because, as your neighbor, a Pakistani, I know you're a bit of a hypocrite," the woman, who later identified herself on Twitter as Ayesha Malik, said.

"You are a UNICEF ambassador for peace and you're encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan," Malik said of the tweet. "There's no winner in this."

"I hear you, whenever you're done venting," Chopra said. "Got it? OK, cool."

The actress continued, saying she has "many, many friends from Pakistan," but is "from India, and war is not something that I am very fond of, but I am patriotic."

She then apologized if the tweet offended any fans who "do love me and have loved me."

"I think that all of us have a sort of middle ground that we all have to walk, just like you probably do as well," Chopra said. "The way you came at me right now? Girl, don't yell. We're all here for love. Don't yell. Don't embarrass yourself. But we all walk that middle ground, but thank you for your enthusiasm and your question and your voice."

Malik later wrote on Twitter that she felt Chopra's response to her comment was "irresponsible," and she felt she was "gaslit.

Other social media users joined in criticizing the actress, and she was even targeted with a Change.org petition with more than 160,000 signatures in support of "Priyanka Chopra doesn't deserve to be UN's Goodwill Ambassador," but the organization backed her, saying that ambassadors can express their beliefs "in a personal capacity."

The dust-up also didn't stop her husband Nick Jonas giving a video shout-out to his Pakistani fans ahead of a new movie release a few months later.

Malik's comments about Chopra's relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who she has appeared alongside multiple times and included as a guest at her wedding, also point to a key controversy that stands in stark contrast to her touting peace.

Chopra's status as an internationally influential actress hasn't kept her from publicly associating with Modi, who has reportedly dabbled in using Bollywood to develop propaganda, particularly around the country's elections, and is largely blamed for the widespread violence and worsening tensions in the region, where nationalism and Islamophobia have reportedly thrived under his time in office.

The "Quantico" actress may have dodged the most widely covered confrontation over her politics yet, but if there turns out to be a prime minister run in her future, the world can expect to see more.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: After passing $1 billion at the box office, a 'Joker' sequel is reportedly in the works. Here's everything you need to know about the ending of the first movie.