New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has written to the Centre demanding that #MeToo-tainted filmmaker Sajid Khan be thrown out of the popular reality show Big Boss.
DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal said she has written to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur against Khan’s participation in the 16th season of Big Boss.
Multiple women had come out during the peak of the #MeToo movement and accused the director of sexual abuse and obscene behaviour.
Maliwal took to Twitter Monday and posted her letter to Thakur, in which she highlighted the experiences of at least 10 women, actresses and journalists among them, with Khan.
She captioned the post in Hindi: “Sajid Khan was accused of sexual harassment by 10 women during the #MeToo movement. These complaints show his disgusting mentality. Now such a person has been given a place in Big Boss which is completely wrong. I have written a letter to Anurag Thakur ji to get Sajid removed from this show.”
In her letter, she wrote: “As the complaints against him reveal, it appears that Khan has acted as a sexual predator for a long time. Clearly, it is inappropriate for an alleged sexual offender such as Sajid Khan to be included in a primetime show which is watched by adults and children alike. This apparently gives him an undue opportunity to whitewash his wrongs and be re-launched amongst Indian audiences.”
Maliwal’s request has added another chapter in the public rage caused by Khan’s participation in Big Boss.
Maliwal said the show’s producers were refusing to remove Khan because the controversy had fed its viewership.
“The allegations against Sajid Khan are extremely serious in nature and should be investigated at the earliest. Under no circumstances such alleged sexual offenders should be promoted on national television and OTT platforms,” she said.
Maliwal said Khan’s inclusion “underlines the precedence that men who enjoy clout in the entertainment industry easily get away with abusive acts without facing consequences”.
She said this “disrespects and invalidates” the women who spoke out against his inappropriate sexual advances.
Also read: Bigg Boss 16: Shekhar Suman to host special segment on the reality show