Top film stars Kamal Haasan and Simbu today came out in support of leading actress Trisha who found herself in the eye of a storm for her association with PETA which is opposing bull-taming sport Jallikattu.
"Pls stop hurting Ms Trisha," Haasan, who supports Jallikattu, tweeted.
"Let the differences between us (Jallikattu supporters) and her (Trisha) become known," he said, "Let the debate (on Jallikattu) continue."
"Way should be made for the well-being of both Trisha and the bull," he said.
Meanwhile, actor Simbu has said Trisha had not known that PETA will oppose Jallikattu.
He said it would be appropriate to talk about her good work in adopting homeless street dogs.
Trisha, an animal lover, had appeared in PETA advertisements supporting adoption of homeless dogs.
After she was targeted by pro-Jallikattu groups for her association with animal rights group PETA which opposes the sport, Trisha today said she had never spoken against the bull taming sport.
Some Jallikattu supporters had yesterday briefly picketed the site of the shooting of Tamil film "Garjanai", starring Trisha, in Sivaganga district, though the actress was not present there at that time.
Abusive text messages accompanied with images of Trisha wearing a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) T-shirt have gone viral on social media.
The actress today asked if such an attitude was in line with Tamil culture.
Supporters of Jallikattu have, while opposing the ban on the sport, maintained that it is part of their tradition.
"Disrespecting a woman and her family is Tamil culture? (sic) You should be ashamed to call urself a Tamilian or even speak about Tamil culture," the actress said in another tweet.
"Secondly, I have never spoken against Jallikattu at any given point. Thank u @iam_str for making my stand clear and talking up for me as always (sic)," she tweeted.
PETA had been opposing Jallikattu and yesterday wrote to the President and the Prime Minister arguing against any ordinance for holding the bull taming sport in the state as demanded by the state government and others.
The group has come under severe attack from Jallikattu supporters who even demanded that PETA be "banned".
(REOPENS MDS8)
Meanwhile, PETA has alleged that Jallikattu supporters have been bullying celebrities -- especially on social media -- including with threats and misogynistic statements.
"This bullying is precisely what the animals endure when they're chased by a mob of grown men who pounce on them, bite their tails, force-feed them alcohol, jab them with sticks, and terrify them until they fall and even break their bones or sometimes die," PETA said in a statement.
"This bullying of both people and animals by jallikattu supporters acts to show the more we tolerate the bullying of animals in our society, the more we allow humans to suffer also.
"Stars who support PETA are volunteers who choose to help the most vulnerable members of our society -- animals -- and are loved by the majority of the public that supports animal protection, it said.
