By: Natasha Archary
Netflix SA has come under fire after the Indian community called out the brand for its lack of diversity at the Bridgerton soireé.
Season 2 of the hit series features two Indian sisters, the Sharma’s prominently as the object of Viscount Bridgerton’s affection. However, the South African celebration failed to include Indian celebrities as part of the guest list.
Taking to the comments section on the soireé’s highlight reel on social media, the streaming platform was called out for failing to be all inclusive.
Selina Naidoo, who is a huge fan of the series, questioned why South African Indian celebrities such as Kerishnie Naicker, Leeandra Reddy, Jailoshnhi Naidoo, Sureshnie Rider and even Shashi Naidoo were not in attendance.
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“The only thing this is giving is lack of diversity and representation,” shared one Instagram user.
“No thanks, racism in 2022 is disgusting,” was another comment.

It wasn’t just the Indian community who noticed that there was a lack of diversity with many South Africans noting the huge disparity in the guest list.
Despite the fury from the Indian community across the country, Netflix SA has not responded which has further fuelled discussions that there is simply no concern about racial prejudices.

The Bridgerton series became popular due to the inclusion of racial groups in an era where people of colour were not considered “royal” enough, at least according to British standards.
Breaking these societal barriers, the show features a black Queen, and season 1 included a black Duke as the lead.
In Season 2, the interracial relationship between the Viscount and the Sharma sisters, Kate and Edwina forms the primary love story.
It’s a very modern take on a Bollywood-style love story and yet, Netflix SA ignored the Indian community on this one.
Kaya 959 tried reaching out to Netflix SA’s PR team to no avail.
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