Veteran actor Kamal Haasan extended support for the wrestlers’ protest against the WFI head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Twitter and urged Indians to give attention to those who need it.
Now, re-sharing the actor’s tweet, singer Chinmayi Sripaada has questioned him for remaining silent when she was banned in the music industry after she ‘named her molester’.
‘5 years of a singer in Tamil Nadu being banned for naming a molester right in front of their eyes and not a pip about it since the poettu has their respect. How does one trust politicians who speak for women’s safety while they ignore harassment right under their noses? Just. Asking. Now while my timeline will blow up with abuse, shouting and yelling imma gonna exit. Buhbye (sic).’ Chinmayi tweeted in response to Kamal Haasan's tweet.
She further wrote, ‘Needless to say there is soooo much anger. So many Kamal Haasan supporters ask me the same survivor-shaming questions that those opposing our Indian wrestlers have said. The playbook to shame women who name powerful molesters is the exact same… I had all the right to question an actor, who is now a politician to clean up the yard he artistically ruled and it make the space safer for women like me to speak up. Not be incarcerated for it. It was a simple ask. My case has been going on and on and on since November 2018 with multiple people from the Film Industry shaming me for speaking up…’
For the unversed, when the MeToo movement started in India in 2018, Chinmayi was one of the first women from the film industry to share her story about sexual abuse on Twitter. She had alleged that Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu sexually harassed her on work trips and threatened to end her career when she didn’t respond. After her allegations, Chinmayi was banned from the South Indian Cine, Television Artistes and Dubbing Artistes Union.
Marking one-month of wrestlers’ protest, Kamal tweeted, ‘Instead of fighting for national glory, we have forced them to fight for personal safety. Fellow Indians, who deserves our attention, our national sporting icons or a politician with an extensive criminal history? I stand with my champions. Wrestlers protest’ (sic).’
Wrestlers such as Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and others have been protesting in Delhi against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who allegedly sexually harassed female athletes.
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