Kirat Assi, a subject of the popular Netflix documentary Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, has replied to a rise in harassment from individuals sharing her catfish's name: Simran Bhogal.
Since the documentary launched, Assi's story received immense attention. Viewers were left shell-shocked as they could not get over the deception she had to endure for nearly a decade.
On October 25, 2024, she expressed her worries on social media saying many people with Simran Bhogal are being mislabeled, and added how much she dislikes witch hunts on people who had nothing to do with the incident.
She insists the name is generic and not intended to incite harassment but accountability towards the real perpetrator.
The catfishing ordeal that Assi experienced from 2010 to 2018 presented a wide-ranging scheme as she had to deal with her cousin, Simran Bhogal, creating false personas, including Assi's fictional romantic partner called "Bobby Jandu."
Viewers can see in vivid detail how Bhogal's deception affected almost every aspect of Assi's life in Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare.
Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare leads to Kirat Assi’s warning against misdirected backlash
In response to the increasing public interest in her life, Kirat Assi has publicly appealed to fans not to harass people carrying the name "Simran Bhogal." Various discussions on social media following the release of the documentary have led to several fans identifying and contacting the wrong people unconnected to the case.
As Assi posted on X (formerly Twitter), she condemns vigilante acts in any form:
“The name is a common one, and I do not condone any witch hunts against people who are caught up in this story through no fault of their own.”
For the catfishing scam, Bhogal had more than 60 personas orchestrated to keep a check on Assi's emotions and actions.
This spread the story, and some members of the audience told Assi that they would have protested if it had been their cousin. However, Assi's focus continues to be on educating the public about what her cousin did and warning against unfair harassment of unrelated people.
The road to accountability and Kirat Assi’s call for change after Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare
Assi has always pleaded with her cousin to own up to the long deception. The police never did consider Assi a victim, branding Bobby the victim but Assi finally made it in a civil court case in the year 2020. Bhogal was forced to pay "substantial damages" and to pen a private letter of apology.
She was not convicted of any crimes since catfishing is still technically a gray legal area, as also detailed in Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare. It caused public reactions to support Assi and stricter online harassment laws to be in place. Despite the legal and social barriers, Assi's call for accountability stands firm.
As she said to Today, she wants Bhogal to come clean about the extent of her actions:
“I just want her to take responsibility for her actions, and put her hands up and just say, ‘Look, I did this.’ Tell us how she did it, and allow herself to be held to account.”
The Netflix documentary brought Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare into mainstream discourse and opened up broader conversations about online safety and identity theft. It is a true cautionary tale, speaking to the need for legal reform around digital manipulation, catfishing, and emotional abuse.
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Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare is now available to stream on Netflix.
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