Salman Rushdie stabbing: Kangana Ranaut, Javed Akhtar, Stephen King react to author getting attacked

Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, who has often remained in the middle of controversies due to his contentious views on several issues, was attacked in western New York while he was on stage during an event, according to media reports.

According to news reports, Salman Rushdie was in New York to deliver a lecture, when a man climbed on stage and attacked him with a sharp object. Bollywood celebrities reacted to the attack, and they shared their concern on social media. 

Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar condemned the attack as 'barbaric' and wrote, "I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie by some fanatic. I hope that NY police and the court will take the strongest action possible against the attacker." 

Here's the tweet

I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie by some fanatic . I hope that NY police and the court will take the strongest action possible against the attacker .

— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) August 12, 2022

Kangana Ranaut also reacted to the incident on her Instagram and wrote, "Another day another appalling act by jihadis, The Satanic Verses is one of the greatest book of it's time... I'm shaken...beyond words. Appalling." 

Here's Kangana's story

Even international well-known author Stephen King expressed his concern for Salman and commented, "I hope Salman is okay." He later tweeted, What kind of asshat stabs a writer, anyway? F****r!"

Here's Stephen's tweet

I hope Salman Rushdie is okay.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 12, 2022

What kind of asshat stabs a writer, anyway? Fucker!

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 12, 2022

A bounty of over USD 3 million has also been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie.Iran's government has long since distanced itself from Khomeini's decree, but anti-Rushdie sentiment lingered. In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for Rushdie from USD 2.8 million to USD 3.3 million.

Rushdie dismissed that threat at the time, saying there was ‘no evidence' of people being interested in the reward. Some of the most popular books written by Salman Rushdie include The Satanic Verses, Midnight’s Children, Shame, and The Golden House.