Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar on Wednesday morning refuted reports that called his home ‘a hotspot’ for COVID-19. He also clarified that an eight people ‘intimate gathering’ isn’t ‘a party.’ 

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“My family and I and everyone at home have done their RTPCR tests and with the grace of god we are all negative! In fact, I tested twice just to be safe and am negative. I truly appreciate the grandest efforts of the BMC to ensure the safety of our city. Salute to them,” Karan wrote.

Addressing some media reports, Karan wrote: “To some members of the media, I would like (to) clarify that an eight people intimate gathering is not a ‘party’ and my home, which we maintain strict protocols in, is certainly no ‘hotspot’ of Covid. All of us are responsible and masked at all times and no one would treat this pandemic lightly. My request to certain members of the media is to exercise some restraint in their extreme reportage without the assessment of facts! Lots of love and safety to all.”

The filmmaker’s statement comes shortly after Kareena Kapoor, Amrita Arora, Maheep Kapoor and Seema Khan, who attended a gathering at his home, tested positive for COVID-19.

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Earlier this week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said Kareena ‘violated Covid norms and attended several parties’.

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Addressing the claim, Kareena’s spokesperson told India Today: “She and Amrita Arora contracted Covid-19 at an intimate dinner where a few friends had gathered to catch up. It wasn’t a big dinner, just a few people close to Bebo (Kareena). There was one person in the group who seemed unwell and was coughing. This person should have been responsible enough to not attend the dinner and put others at risk.”