The #Metoo movement is gaining impulse in India. Several hidden skeletons are tumbling out of the closets. Many senior journalists and big names of the Indian media industry have been called out for harassing women. In another such case, the renowned Tamil lyricist, Vairamuthu has also been accused of sexual misconduct.
Vairamuthu has so far received multiple National Awards for his songs. He is known for his works in films like Raavan, Roja, Kannathil Muthamital and Dharma Durai. He is also the recipient of Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour.
An anonymous woman has claimed that ‘Vairamuthu is a sexual predator.’ She, who didn’t want to reveal her identity, had made serious allegations of sexual misconduct against Vairamuthu.
The victim had shared the story with a journalist, Sandhya Menon, who took to Twitter to share the horrific experience.
On lyricist Vairamuthu pic.twitter.com/c6DwYWOO6C
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 8, 2018
Singer Chinmayi Sripaada on Monday took to Twitter to endorse the allegations of sexual harassment against Tamil poet-lyricist Vairamuthu after several users on Twitter accused him of inappropriate conduct and sexual abuse.
I cannot stop shaking.
My Friend will remain anonymous.@vairamuthu
Why people cannot share at the risk of their careers.
And bloody hell #MeToo!! pic.twitter.com/REj1UcTxtL
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 8, 2018
She also took to Twitter to reveal her horrifying story as part of the #MeToo movement.
It is very, very tough for women to remember accounts of when they were touched inappropriately; a ‘harmless’ hug that looks OK but makes them alone cringe.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) October 5, 2018
In a series of tweets, the singer alleged that an organiser at a concert in Switzerland had asked her to meet the poet at his hotel in Lucerne. “He [organiser] told me to cooperate,” Sripaada tweeted. “I refused. We demanded to be sent back to India. He said: ‘You won’t have a career!”
She alleged that, in another incident, the poet threatened to make false claims about her when she turned down his request to sing at an event. Sripaada said Vairamuthu said he “will tell [a politician] you spoke ill of him on stage, yelled at me and kept the phone down”.
On October 10, Vairamuthu took to Twitter to share his side of the story.
Roughly translated his Tweet read, “Shaming innocent people has become a fashion these days. I have been shamed on several occasions recently. This is one among them. I do not lend an ear to anything that is not true. Time shall reveal the truth.”
While Chinmayi, her husband and actor Rahul Ravindran, actor Siddharth, singer Shakthishree Gopalan and a few others have come out in support of her and her allegations against Vairamuthu there are many still who have chosen to remain tight-lipped about the entire incident.
