Priyanka Chopra Posts On ‘The Activist’ And Admits, “The Show Got It Wrong” – Deadline

Priyanka Chopra channeled Bob Dylan in a Twitter post today regarding her part in the controversial  series The Activist, to wit: “You don’t have to be a weatherman/to know which way the wind blows.”

Chopra cautiously waited until today to respond to the uproar over the originally proposed show, which was set to focus on competing teams of activists and public figures fighting to promote their causes on social media. The goal was securing the highest amount of funding to win the game.

The resulting firestorm of criticism led to an announcement by CBS that its planned competition will shift to a documentary special. The competition was to be judged by Chopra, Usher and Julianne Hough, the latter already responding by admitting she was not qualified to be a judge on such a show..

Today, it was Chopra’s turn for the mea culpas.

“I have been moved by the power of your voices over the past week,” Chopra wrote in a statement posted to Twitter and Instagram. “At its core, Activism is fueled by cause and effect, and when people come together to raise their voice about something, there is always an effect. You were heard. The show got it wrong, and I’m sorry that my participation in it disappointed many of you.”

Chopra tried to explain the show’s original intent, saying its goal was “to bring attention to the people behind the ideas and highlight the actions and impact of the causes they support tirelessly. I’m happy to know that in this new format, their stories will be the highlight, and I’m proud to collaborate with partners who have their ear to the ground and know when it’s time to hit pause and re-evaluate.”

The show’s producers, Global Citizen and Live Nation, tried to explain themselves yesterday.

“The Activist was designed to show a wide audience the passion, long hours, and ingenuity that activists put into changing the world, hopefully inspiring others to do the same,” a message posted by the organizations read.

“However, it has become apparent the format of the show as announced distracts from the vital work these incredible activists do in their communities every day,” the message continued. “The push for global change is not a competition and requires a global effort.”

Rosy Cordero contributed to this report.