#MeToo: Sona Mohapatra Responds To Anu Malik’s Open Letter About Harassment Allegations

Last year, India (and the world) saw a domino effect of women telling men in power enough is enough. In various industries like comedy, media, cinema, politics, etc. powerful men were put on the spot and called out for their misdoings against women. What started with Twitter slowly became a revolution and women weren’t afraid to share their stories anymore.

Among the many accused was singer Anu Malik who was called out by others from the industry, including Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit, for sexually harassing them. Other anonymous women came forward too to talk about his misconduct which led to him getting dismissed as the judge from Indian Idol Season 10.

Now, after a year of such allegations, Anu Malik has written an open letter on social media denying all the claims: “It has been over a year that I have been accused of something that I haven’t done. I have been silent all this while as I was waiting for the truth to surface on its own. But I realise that my silence on the matter has been misconstrued as my weakness. Ever since the false and unverified allegations were levelled against me, it has not only ruined my reputation, but affected me and my family’s mental health, left us traumatised, and tarnished my career. I feel helpless, like I am being cornered and suffocated.”

Recently, singer Neha Bhasin also came in support of Sona and called him an “ugly pervert” recalling an uncomfortable encounter she had with him when she was only 21 years old. This happened after Sona was asked to leave Indian Idol 11 so Malik could be reinstated as the judge once again. Sona had also called out cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for praising talented young contestants on the reality show asking if he was aware of the #MeToo allegations against Malik.

In his letter, Malik also wrote, “Why wasn’t this spoken about before? Why do these allegations resurface only when I am back on television, which is currently my only source of livelihood?” Being a father of two daughters, he said he “can’t imagine committing the acts that I am accused of, let alone do it. Fighting a battle on social media is an endless process, at the end of which nobody wins. If this keeps on continuing, I will have no option but to knock on the doors of the courts to safeguard myself.”

Now, Sona has responded to his open letter saying these aren’t unverified allegations. Sane and independent women have spoken out against him. She even adviced Malik to “take a break, go to a sex-rehab or counselling or somewhere to reflect on how to behave better”.

Shweta Pandit, too, slammed him on Twitter agreeing with the Ambarsariya singer.

It is still to be seen what the legal repercussions will be but we are hoping that justice will be finally served.

Featured Image: Instagram

POPxo is now available in six languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bangla.

Introducing #POPxoEverydayBeauty – POPxo Shop’s collection of skin, bath & body, and hair products that are fun, effective and 100% fuss-free. To celebrate, we’re giving everyone 25% off on pre-orders so head to POPxo.com/beautyshop and take your beauty routine up a POP!