Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas, multiple-Grammy winning singer-songwriter Usher, and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ star Julianne Hough are being criticised by social media users after they were announced to judge a new reality show titled ‘The Activist’.

What is ‘The Activist’?

‘The Activist’ is a reality show with six contestants. They will be divided into three teams of two each and they will fight for their chosen ‘cause’. Each team will be helped by one of the show’s famous hosts. The teams will compete in tasks and challenges, and promote their chosen ‘causes’. They will be judged by online engagement, social metrics, and the hosts’ inputs.

Global Citizen, a website that brought Coldplay to Mumbai in 2016, is behind the show’s concept. According to their website, Global Citizens is a movement to end extreme poverty by 2030. “On our platform, Global Citizens learn about the systemic causes of extreme poverty, take action on those issues, and earn rewards for their actions — as part of a global community committed to lasting change.”

Rihanna, Beyonce, Jay Z, and Chris Martin in the past have supported the movement.

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Why are people criticising the show?

Ever since news about ‘The Activist’ broke, social media users have criticised the concept of the show and the three judges. Some have genuine questions about the premise of the show, and what it sought to achieve. The show has been called its “elite”, “capitalist” and “business-minded”, “dystopian” and “removed from reality”.

Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto wrote tweeted, “The good news is that no actual activists would be caught dead on this show”.

British actor Jameela Jamil, known for being straight forward, tweeted that they should just give the money instead of paying this “UNBELIEVABLY expensive talent”.

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Georgia Democratic politician Nabilah Islam said bunch of millionaires deciding who’s worthy of their crumbs is not worth dancing and singing. “Who ever thought this was a good idea should take a f — seat.”

So far, there has been no comments from the reality show’s production house.

The show will be broadcast in October for five weeks but names of the six contestants aren’t known yet.