Ram Kapoor has found himself at the centre of controversy just ahead of his OTT release, co-starring Mona Singh. The actor has been removed from all promotional duties following allegations that he made sexually inappropriate and offensive remarks to members of the show’s marketing and publicity teams during press interviews. The remarks reportedly made several crew members uncomfortable, prompting the platform to act. Ram opens up about the incident, saying, “I am guilty as charged, but let me justify…”

During a media interaction activity, as a part of the promotions of his upcoming web series Mistry, Ram Kapoor passed comments on the clothes of some of the streaming platform’s female executives, saying, “If they are in my line of sight, how can I not look?”

He reportedly made repeated comments about kissing a male executive from the show’s marketing team and also implied that his mother ‘should have gone to sleep’ instead of conceiving him. He also made jokes about feeling ‘gang-raped’ in front of a journalist and also referred to sex positions. Following this, a source from the platform on which Mistry will stream, told an entertainment news publication, “This workplace prioritizes dignity and safety. After a complaint was formally raised and the incidents corroborated by eyewitnesses, the leadership moved promptly. The platform wants to distance itself from any behaviour that normalises workplace misconduct. The interviews are being held solely with Mona.”

Breaking his silence on the entire matter, Ram says, “Let me start by saying that everything I’ve been accused of saying, I have said it. So, the fact is that I am guilty as charged. But this is what I have to say in my defence. Whenever I’m with people I am comfortable with, I tend to become my bindass self. Everyone who knows me and who has worked with me knows that is how I am and that I don’t mean to be offensive.”

Ram also claimed that he was unaware of the discomfort he may have caused the show’s team during the event. “I didn’t feel that even once throughout the day. We were laughing and joking. If I had gotten the whiff that they were offended, I would have dealt with it right away,” he adds.

‘Why would I make those comments openly if I felt they were offensive?’

Elaborating on what transpired during the media interaction, Ram explains, “I commented on the dress a girl was wearing, and said it was a distraction. I did say it. But please understand, before that comment, I also told some men who were standing in the way to move because they were in the way of my line of vision (in the direction I was supposed to look and talk). If I felt it was inappropriate, why would I say it openly in a hall full of media people? My character has been questioned for the first time in 25 years, so do acknowledge my justification.”

Having worked across film, television, and digital platforms, Ram reflects on the need to evolve with changing times. “Now, I am aware of a few things which I wasn’t that day. I cannot be my obnoxious normal self,” he says, adding, “The comments I made came from a harmless space, but the bottom line is that those team members, who are half my age, did get offended, and that’s not acceptable. Not only my fans, I have my son who looks up to me and learns from me. I want to tell everyone that please don’t doubt me. It doesn’t matter what I think or what the media thinks is right or wrong, but the OTT platform thought that certain things were wrong, and that is justified from their point of view. I do not blame them for taking this stance, because yes, it will teach me a lesson. I respect their decision, and I am going to find a way to apologize to each of those team members who were offended that day on a personal level.”

Days before the release of his mystery dramedy Mistry, actor Ram Kapoor has been dropped from the series’ promotional activities. The decision was made by the top brass at JioHotstar — which will host the series — after the actor allegedly made sexually inappropriate remarks during a media interaction at J W Marriott, Juhu, on Thursday.

Multiple eyewitnesses revealed that Kapoor, while seated alongside his co-star Mona Singh and JioHotstar executives, made comments laden with sexual innuendo that left members of the team uncomfortable.

We’re told one of the instances happened between two interviews. A JioHotstar insider revealed, “The tone and content of his ‘jokes’ were unprofessional. He had back-to-back interviews that day. Referring to the work pressure at one point, he said he feels ‘gang-raped’. This remark was made while one journalist was setting up her mic.” The journalist corroborated the episode. 

In the course of the evening, Kapoor — while interacting with the JioHotstar and public relations teams — apparently made off-colour remarks about their outfits and their family. One of the executives recounted, “He looked at my colleague’s dress and referring to its length, said, ‘The clothes are distracting.’”

Another staffer said that the team was aghast at the number of offensive things he said, under the garb of humour, throughout the day. “It didn’t hit immediately, but when it did later that evening, we started recounting the number of offensive things he said. He told one of our male colleagues that his mother should have faked a headache and he shouldn’t have been born. He made references to sex positions.”

The following morning, June 20, the matter was swiftly escalated to JioHotstar’s senior leadership. Internal discussions were held with the streamer’s HR team, following which it was decided that Kapoor’s remaining promotional appearances would be cancelled and he would be distanced from the show.

An insider states, “This workplace prioritizes dignity and safety. After a complaint was formally raised and the incidents corroborated by eyewitnesses, the leadership moved promptly. The platform wants to distance itself from any behaviour that normalizes workplace misconduct. The interviews are being solely held with Mona.”

In light of the incident, internal training sessions on gender sensitivity have been apparently fast-tracked as  the platform seeks to reinforce its workplace code of conduct.

mid-day reached out to Kapoor, who did not respond till press time.