DELUSIONAL TAKE: Dia Mirza Faces Backlash After Saying ‘Patriarchy Is the Cause of Climate Change’

Key Points:

DIA MIRZA, an award-winning Indian actress and prominent environmentalist who has served as a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador (appointed in 2017) and a UN Secretary-General Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is now at the centre of a major online controversy. The controversy stems from a comment she made on Soha Ali Khan's podcast All About Her, alongside journalist, author, and photographer Arati Kumar-Rao. The actress said that men are responsible for climate change.

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The Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein actress said on the podcast that, “Patriarchy is the cause of climate change.” She did not stop there and went on to claim that, “It's men who have driven climate change and they are entirely and totally responsible for the chaos that is being unleashed on our world today and the misery that people are experiencing everywhere.” She said that this situation exists not only in the Global South but in the Global North as well.

The episode was released on June 5, 2026, and a short clip from the nearly two-hour interview has gone viral on social media. The discussion revolved around the idea of ecofeminism, which connects women, nature, and the systems that continue to exploit both. Ecofeminism is a philosophical and social movement that examines the links between the oppression of women and the degradation of nature. The theory argues that patriarchal systems exploit both women and the environment.

Mixed reactions to Dia Mirza's climate change claim

People on social media watched the 24-second clip and reacted strongly, with some expressing outrage and others making fun of Dia Mirza's statement. One person quoted Camille Paglia, writing, “If civilization had been left in female hands, we would still be living in grass huts.” Another wrote, “They are speaking all this nonsense while sitting in air-conditioned rooms wearing 2 kg of makeup.”

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Another user commented, “These types of gossips remind me of hostel days, when a few friends used to blabber anything after booze, that too in English.” Many questioned Dia Mirza for speaking about the environment while living an elite lifestyle and accused her of hypocrisy.

Some users, however, supported her remarks. One person wrote, “Idk why many people are bashing her. Maybe she could've articulated it better, but patriarchy, imperialism and capitalism are the sole reasons for climate change and global warming. And the people who are worst affected are also women and the marginalized.” Another wrote, “She's 100% correct. We've literally got some dumbf**k men dropping bombs on the world right now, while some are destroying our forests and looking to build data centres, among other things. Not to mention the historical systemic damage.”

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