Samantha Ruth Prabhu Shares She Was Forced to Go Public About Her Myositis Disorder: ‘Given a Choice, I Wouldn’t…’

Samantha Ruth Prabhu disclosed her battle with myositis, stating that she was compelled to make her condition public before the release of "Yashoda" in 2022.

Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has shared details about her autoimmune condition, myositis stating that she was compelled to disclose her disorder publicly. Samantha opened up about her myositis diagnosis prior to the release of “Yashoda” in 2022. During an interview with India Today, Samantha expressed that she experienced “unhappy years” throughout her 14-year career.

‘I Was Forced to Share My Myositis Diagnosis’

Samantha explained, “I was forced to go public about my disorder. At that time, I had my female-centric film due for release. I was very sick back then. It was hard and I wasn’t ready. There was all sorts of speculation going around and misinformation being spread. The producers needed me to promote it, otherwise, it (the film) would just die.”

The actress further said that she agreed to do one interview while undergoing high doses of medication to manage her condition. Samantha further added, “So, I agreed to do one interview. I didn’t look the same. I had high doses of medication to keep me stable. I was forced to. Given a choice, I wouldn’t have come out and announced it.”

‘I Was Labelled as a Sympathy Queen’

“I was called sympathy queen by the public. In my journey as an actor, and as a human being, I have evolved so much. Early on in my career, I was anxious and go up (online) looking for nasty articles and what was being written about me. The more people accused me of things, I started to almost question every question every thought of mine. They have forced me to become the person that I can be proud of. When people are going through a lot of pain, they need a portal to project it. And social media is that portal I guess. I do really think that,” she added.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu on Suffering From ‘Impostor Syndrome’

Samantha also shared that she experienced “Imposter Syndrome” and feared that “One day when I wake up, it would go away.” She expressed that even during the peak moments of her career, she struggled to fully appreciate them due to her syndrome. Samantha admitted that she never credited her achievements to herself, always attributing them to others.

Currently, on a break from work, Samantha’s next project is the Indian adaptation of the global series Citadel, where she will star alongside Varun Dhawan in a leading role.