Popular satire website The Fauxy recently received a defamation notice from director Sajid Khan. In its response to the legal notice sent by film director Sajid Khan against their satirical article, filed through Falcon LLP, The Fauxy has stated that they are popularly known for producing fictitious content solely for the purpose of entertainment and it is well within their rights to publish such articles.
Notably, the reply comes after film director Sajid Khan sent a legal notice to the satire website over their article stating that all female contestants of the controversial show BIggBoss 16 have nominated themselves for eviction after #MeToo accused Sajid Khan entered the show as a contestant.
All the 12 Female Contestants Nominate Themselves for Eviction After Me Too Accused Sajid Khan Enters #BiggBoss16https://t.co/TOhHfmJMGf
— The Fauxy (@the_fauxy) October 7, 2022
The Fauxy has refuted that it has lost the sense of its obligations, duties, and privileges as claimed, asserting that as a media institution, the fourth pillar of democracy, it has well-observed its obligations and privileges and is in accordance with them.
It has stated that the intent behind the content it generates is very clear, which is to generate fictitious meaning “imaginary, invented” news based on trending topics in order to entertain the public.
“As held in a myriad of judgments passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the right to free speech and expression encompasses the right to publish and circulate one’s ideas and opinions, as enshrined in our constitution, which is a fundamental right, and our clients submit that from time to time, this fundamental right has been stoutly protected by the courts,” the Fauxy replied.
Notably, the website relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Indibly Creative (P) Ltd. Vs. State of West Bengal, in which the Supreme Court included satire as within the connotation of free speech.
Furthermore, it claims that Sajid Khan has grossly misconstrued the contents of the concerned article as defamatory.
For the uninitiated, The Fauxy published a satirical article in which they stated, “All the female contestants initially asked Bigg Boss not to allow ‘Me Too’ accused Sajid Khan or shift them to some other house, and later decided to quit the show when Bigg Boss didn’t listen.”
The notice issued against The Fauxy stated that the publication is obviously false, fabricated, and defamatory of Sajid Kamran Khan. Khan in his notice asked that The Fauxy remove the article and delete it from digital archives also.
Sajid Khan, who was snubbed in the industry after sexual harassment allegations were levelled against him, is making a comeback on the reality show Bigg Boss. The IFTDA (Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association) had forbidden him from directing films following the accusations against him.
During the 2018 #MeToo movement, which saw women speak out about sexual harassment, Rachel White, Saloni Chopra, Sherlyn Chopra, Aahana Kumra, and Mandana Karimi, among others, made accusations.
Mandana Karimi alleged in 2018 that when she had gone to meet Sajid Khan for the movie Humshakals, he had asked her to remove her clothes. He had allegedly told her, ‘If I like what I see, you might get the part’.
An old interview of Sajid Khan is making the rounds on the internet. In this video, he can be seen chatting with Kiran Juneja on her show ‘Koshish Se Kamyabi Tak.’
He discusses his character, his engagement with Gauahar Khan, and his numerous relationships in the popular video. When asked about his breakup with Gauahar Khan by presenter Kiran, Sajid replied, “I had a pretty loose character at the time.”
“I was hanging out with a lot of girls and lying a lot,” he admitted, adding that despite being engaged to Gauahar, he used to say ‘I love you’ to a lot of girls and go out with them, with each lady proposing marriage and many girls becoming serious. “I could have had 350 marriages,” Sajid boasted.
Gauahar Khan, the winner of ‘Bigg Boss 7,’ got engaged to Sajid Khan, Farah Khan’s brother, in 2003. However, due to personal reasons, the two later parted ways.
Recently, Swati Maliwal, the head of the Delhi Commission for Women, also wrote to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, requesting that Sajid Khan be removed from the reality show Bigg Boss.
