Celebrities, long at the receiving end of social media trolls, are giving it back, more so to those who issue rape or death threats
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 19, 2020)

There’s no end to social media toxicity, but the recent incidents of celebrities getting rape and death threats on these platforms have raised an alarm, not just on women’s safety, but on trolls in general. Many celebs who were at the receiving end, tackled such incidents admirably.

Actor Alia Bhatt’s sister, author Shaheen Bhatt, named and shamed the people who issued them threats. “...to those of you who think it’s okay to send me or anyone messages full of hate: If you send me a message with the sole hope of humiliating, insulting, or bullying me.. I will NOT protect your identity.… I WILL use all legal recourse available..” Actor Rhea Chakraborty, girlfriend of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, too, shared a screenshot of an Instagram direct message, exposing the user’s profile name and picture.

POSITIVE EXAMPLE
Yogita Bhayana, founder of NGO PARI, shares that public figures speaking up is a good sign. “These celebs have the backing and should not take this nonsense at all. A normal girl might not feel empowered, but actors can speak up,” she says, adding she has faced such threats in the past.

Counselling psychologist Sachita Sethi concurs that when celebs make such a statement, it helps highlight the issue. “It’s good that celebs are coming out, they’ll be role models for youngsters.”

Emphasising that most trolls assume an anonymous identity, clinical psychologist Pulkit Sharma says, “It’s because of the medium that gives the comfort of lashing out without consequences.”

CASES ON THE RISE
Cyber bullying cases are, of late, more rampant. Rekha Sharma, chairperson, National Commission for Women (NCW) elaborates, “Since the lockdown started, NCW received 289 complaints on cyber crime and took suo motu cognisance of several cases on which it was tagged on Twitter. We need more trained police officials to help us solve these cases.”

Bhayana adds this is where the problem lies. “Even if you talk to experts, there are no clear guidelines. If you go to a police station, they’ll direct you to the cyber cell,” she says.

ACTORS hit back
Last month, actor Meera Chopra was left shaken after receiving threats from the fans of a popular Telugu actor. “It makes a difference to somebody’s psyche,” she asserts.

Actor Richa Chadha doesn’t take online bullying quietly, and says most people who issue violent threats online, rely on anonymity. “Some do it to get famous and end up in jail like Shubham Mishra (who gave rape threats to stand-up comic Agrima Joshua). Whatever we do online, has consequences,” she says.

And recently, actor Sonam Kapoor aka Sonam K Ahuja took to Instagram to share a death threat her sister, Rhea received. “Instagram doesn’t think death threats is a violation or their India team can’t read Hindi,” she wrote when they refused to take down the comment.
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ACTORS SIGN #INDIAAGAINSTABUSE PETITION
Recently, actor Kalki Koechlin told HT in an interview she had to ignore “toxic stuff” on the internet for her mental health. Now, she and actors Sayani Gupta, Dia Mirza, Sonam K Ahuja and Maanvi Gagroo have signed the #IndiaAgainstAbuse petition. On Instagram, they shared stories about rape and death threats women receive online, and asked their followers to join hands to make social media safe for them again.

National Commission of Women states decision taken after complainant failed to furnish ‘communication/substantial evidence’; Chairperson Rekha Sharma says they’re willing to reopen case if she comes forward or brings more evidence
Roshmila Bhattacharya and Alka Dhupkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 17, 2020)

Anu Malik has been mired in controversy over the last two years, since the #MeToo movement exploded in India. He was forced to step down as the judge of the singing reality show, Indian Idol, after being called out by several women, including singers Sona Mohapatra, Shweta Pandit, Caralisa Monteiro, Neha Bhasin and former Indian Idol producer Danica D’Souza. After his return for the 11th season of the Sony TV show last November, the makers were slammed for taking him back.

Anu responded with an open letter on November 14, saying, “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… The show must go on. But behind this happy face, I’m in pain. I’m in a dark space. And justice is all I want.”

Sona reacted with an open letter of her own, stating, “‘Unverified’ allegations, you say? These are multiple testimonies of independent, sane women, speaking coherently & they have a common thread & story.” She stated that he had no right to be platformed on National TV till he made amends. “You aren’t a role model. You could always take a break, go to a sex-rehab or counselling or somewhere to reflect on how to behave better.” She ended by telling him to step down, go to court.

Following this, Sony Entertainment Television announced that Anu had conveyed to the channel that he wants to step down till his name is cleared. While Sona had welcomed the move, Anu had refused to comment.

Now, Mirror is in possession of a letter dated January 3, 2020, written by Barnali Shome, Under Secretary, National Commission for Women, to Madhuri Malhotra, head, Standards & Practices, Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited, stating that the NCW had taken cognizance of Sona’s Twitter post, wherein it was alleged that ignoring the testimonies of multiple women of sexual harassment and assault, a person (Anu Malik) was made “a judge for youngsters on national television”.

“The Commission is in receipt of your response dated 06/12/2019 in the matter. In view of the above, I am directed to apprise you that the Commission has closed the case due to lack of communication/ substantial evidence sought from the complainant,” the letter states.

When Mirror spoke to Rekha Sharma, chairperson, NCW, she confirmed that a week ago the letter had been sent to Anu Malik. “Responding to a complaint, we wrote to the complainant. She said she was traveling and whenever she returns, she will visit us. We waited for around 45 days. We had also asked for some documents, but after that she never responded. The complainant had informed us that there are more women who have complaints against Anu Malik and we told her that they can also file a complaint with us but none of them have responded yet. This is not a permanent closure of the case. If the complainant comes forward or brings more evidence or submits any kind of document, we can reopen it.”

Divya Kaushik (BOMBAY TIMES; May 22, 2019)

After making headlines over the delay of his upcoming film on PM Modi, Vivek Anand Oberoi has again landed in a controversy. On Monday, the actor retweeted a meme which promptly blew up in his face. The meme had a picture of Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan titled ‘opinion poll’, followed by a Vivek and Aishwarya’s picture titled ‘exit poll’ and finally, a picture of Aishwarya with Abhishek and daughter Aaradhya titled ‘result.’ “Haha! Creative! No politics here…just life,” the actor wrote with the tweet. But it was deemed ‘offensive’, ‘disgusting’ and ‘misogynistic’ by many, including Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Madhur Bhandarkar and Hansal Mehta. He even got a notice from the National Commission for Women (NCW).

Following this backlash, Vivek deleted the meme on Tuesday morning and tweeted, “Sometimes what appears to be funny and harmless at first glance to one, may not be so to others. I have spent the last 10 years empowering more than 2,000 underprivileged girls, I can’t even think of being disrespectful to any woman ever. Even if one woman is offended by my reply to the meme, it calls for remedial action. Apologies tweet deleted.”

Before deleting the tweet, on Monday evening, Vivek attended the screening of PM Modi’s biopic in Delhi. When he was asked if he would apologise for the tweet, he said, “I am still trying to understand what is it that people are objecting to. Someone created a meme on me and sent it to me. There are various memes created and I often laugh at them and I also laughed at this one and said that this is life. I don’t know why we are getting back to the regressive era of the 1920s. Everyone has a past, but all those who are public figures, their lives are in the public domain. Everyone keeps talking about actors’ affairs, break-ups, etc. All I am saying is that someone sent me a meme, I laughed at it and replied. I didn’t use any offensive word, didn’t abuse anyone, didn’t use any obscene picture. The meme has a beautiful family picture with Abhishek, Aishwarya and Aaradhya and I have only blessings and good wishes for them.”

On Monday, the NCW issued a notice to the actor seeking an explanation for his tweet. “We would like him to apologise on social media and personally also to the person concerned. If he doesn’t, we will see what legal action we can take against him,” Rekha Sharma, NCW chairperson, was quoted as saying. At the screening, when the actor was asked if he is going to apologise to the NCW, he said, “I would like to meet women’s commission. I have been working for women’s empowerment for the last 10 years. I am not someone who promotes women empowerment just on Twitter. In the last 10 years, I have helped with the rescue, education and well-being of around 2,200 girls, who were from abusive backgrounds. All these are facts and are well documented. So as far as respecting women is concerned, I am very careful. I personally feel there is nothing disrespectful about the tweet and I will meet the women’s commission. If they can explain to me what is wrong with the tweet, I will apologise to them.”

About facing backlash from the film industry, Vivek said, “To all other people I would say why make this so big?” Reacting to Sonam’s tweet, he said, “Sometimes people write such things on Twitter to appear cool. I would like to ask Sonam what work has she done for women’s empowerment? I have been working on women empowerment since Sonam was working on her makeover. I would just tell Sonam, ‘I have a lot of respect and love for your father. But what you have written, to that I would like to give you a small advice. God bless you and wish you all the best in your career but please overact less on screen and overreact less on social media.’”