Actress Priyanka Chopra was criticized for smoking a cigarette on a yacht in Miami. Priyanka was spending her birthday with her husband Nick Jonas, her mother Madhu Chopra, and other friends. While both Nick and Priyanka’s mother are spotted smoking cigars, the cigarette in Priyanka’s hand drew the most attention on the internet.

This comes at a time when governments and nations all over the world are going crazy trying to get smokers to stop or face the consequences of cancer.

The most often asked question on Twitter was how she could smoke since she had previously said that she suffered from asthma. On Diwali last year, Priyanka Chopra stated that she suffers from asthma and urged Indians not to light firecrackers. She went on to say that the event should focus on “lights and laddoos and love, and not pollution.” She collaborated with Cipla on the video commercial, which shows her leading a full life despite her asthma.

She captioned ‘’Those who know me well know that I’m an asthmatic. I mean, what’s to hide? I knew that I had to control my asthma before it controlled me. As long as I’ve got my inhaler, asthma can’t stop me from achieving my goals.’’

“There’s no harm in smoking, as long as you don’t get caught,” says Priyanka’s coworker, who refused to be named. “I am okay with Priyanka and her mother smoking. It’s their problem, not mine. But once this visual (of mother and daughter smoking) goes viral, then it becomes everybody’s problem.”

Fans dredged out an old tweet from Priyanka from 2010, in which she said, “Smoking is awful!!! Yuck!!!”

Trolls and fans are now doubting if Priyanka had asthma in the first place. “It was smoke that chocked her,” one Twitter user swiftly noted.

While the trolls mocked the actress, a group of Twitter users backed her, claiming that everyone has the right to make their own decisions.

One wrote: ‘’So #PriyankaChopra was pictured smoking… Can’t a woman make independent choices without being trolled ! Maybe she did not smoke before, maybe now or maybe she was just taking a drag.. leave her alone !!

Another wrote: “Is it just me or anyone who feels that Priyanka Chopra is being attacked by Indians Irrationally? #PriyankaChopra, People should know that there is a big fat difference b/n burning bunch full of crackers and smoking 1 cigarette.”