Maitreyi Ramakrishnan won't change her name for anyone
Respect people's names! Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is not shortening or changing her "complicated" name for anyone.
It's not uncommon for rising stars in Hollywood to shorten or change their names to make them easier for people to pronounce.
But one person who will not be going by a nickname professionally is 'Never Have I Ever' star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
The Canadian actress, whose parents are from Sri Lanka, says it is important to get people's names right.
"When you’ve been asked if you plan on shortening your name or asked if you have a nickname to make it easier for THEM, this can get you feeling emotional," she wrote on Instagram after Netflix gave her a shout-out on a promo billboard.
The 20-year-old added that we need to respect the names that people are born with.
"If they choose to have a long name, nickname, or a completely new name: respect it. Respect how they want it spelt AND pronounced. Thank you to the amazing folks @netflix who got this up there and believe in my long name. Shoutout to all the folks with “complicated” names. Your name holds power and is absolutely amazing."
Maitreyi plays Devi Vishwakumar in Netflix's hit series 'Never Have I Ever'. Season three is currently one of the top 10 TV shows in South Africa on the streaming platform.
The show is Maitreyi's first professional acting gig. She told Variety that she has learned a lot over these past few years.
"One [lesson] that I have really reminded myself in this past bit is that no matter what happens, I’m going to be okay. There’s a lot of times in my life where I get very nervous. I get very anxious and scared, and I overthink and I get stressed. But I remind myself that it’s going to be okay, no matter what happens. I should trust in myself that I’ve worked hard, and I’m a cool person, and who knows what’s gonna happen. It’ll be alright.”
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Main image credit: Instagram/@maitreyiramakrishnan