Being on vacation in Dubai is no excuse for your problematic opinions, Hira Mani.

When we think of social media, one of the first things that comes to our minds is how much of an impact it has on people. The hate that often fills comment sections can leave people scarred, the carefully edited pictures that leave others envious and critical of their own perceived flaws and the people who like to spew nonsense without a thought of who is impacted by what they say. Enter celebrities like Hira Mani who use their platforms to share pictures, videos and ridiculous statements and then believe they can wish it all away with an apology.

But in the real world, an apology doesn't wash away your wrongdoings. Saying sorry is great, but it doesn't mean you get away with doing or saying something wrong just because you say it.

On Monday, the Ghalati actor took to Instagram and stirred controversy after she said she doesn't want Dua Zehra - a minor from Karachi who was reported initially reported kidnapped in April and later found to have 'eloped' in Punjab with someone who is not a minor - and her 'husband' Zaheer to part ways.

In now expired Instagram stories, Mani had justified her statement by saying, 'I'm not politically right but emotionally correct. That's why I am Hira Mani.' Indeed, Hira Mani is almost never 'politically right'. In fact, we often think she doesn't even know what it means to be 'politically right' - if she did, she wouldn't say half the things she does.

Her opinion on a sensitive issue such as this case attracted massive backlash online. People criticised the actor's opinions, her acting skills and her deeply problematic take on a matter of child marriage. All of the criticism came down to one thing and one thing only - someone needs to take Hira Mani's social media away.

While we believe the backlash was well-deserved, it also raised the question of whether some people should have access to such large platforms, especially when they use them so carelessly. As Mani admitted later, she didn't actually form her opinion after reading the facts of the case - she was in Dubai on vacation, where she seems to want us to believe there is no access to news channels or websites.

But ignorance is not always bliss and making sweeping statements on your massive platform without understanding that you are romanticising child marriage isn't something that can be swept under the rug with a mere sorry and some tears.

An apology long coming

Two days after her initial statement, Mani issued an apology via a four-minute long video...