On November 26, actress Uorfi Javed, who is popular for her social media presence and unconventional fashion sense, called out author Chetan Bhagat for his remarks where he called Uorfi a ‘distraction’ for young boys. In a series of Instagram stories, Uorfi lashed out at Bhagat for his remarks and shared his leaked chats from a few years ago that went viral during the MeToo campaign. Chetan Bhagat was accused of sexual misconduct by a journalist and later by controversial author and yoga instructor Ira Trivedi.
Chetan Bhagat’s remarks against Uorfi
Aaj Tak invited Bhagat for ‘Sahitya Aaj Tak’ as ‘Motivational Writer’. The channel streamed his interview during the event on November 20. At the beginning of the interview, he praised the audience for coming to the event and said instead of watching OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Ullu TV, people decided to listen to authors at the event. He mocked the OTT platform Ullu TV and pointed out that people who were laughing in the audience were aware of the platform.
Speaking about the content available on the internet, he said, “Phone has been a great distraction for the youth, especially the boys, spending hours just watching Instagram reels. They keep liking the photos. There are photos of Uorfi Javed. See, everyone knows who Uorfi Javed is. Why do you know? Is it going to be part of a course? Are you going to tell in an interview that you know about all the dresses of Uorfi Javed? It is not even Uorfi’s fault, as she is trying to make her career. There are many others.”
Comparing the followers of the likes of Uorfi with the soldiers on the border, he said, “One section of youth sitting on Kargil border and defending the nation. The other section of the youth is inside the blanket and watching photos of Uorfi Javed.” He further said that cheap data does not mean you keep scrolling reels on social media mindlessly.
Bhagat further added, “I do not want to become the ‘uncle’ who gives ‘gyaan’. This is why I talked about Uorfi Javed to mention ‘see we have also seen’. Today she wore a dress made of two phones. Have you seen it? Many have already seen it. It gets viral faster than the news.”
Uorfi Javed reacted to Chetan’s remarks
The remarks passed by the author did not garner many headlines or attract a reaction from Uorfi. However, following an op-ed in Firstpost where the author called out Bhagat for the remarks that were published on November 25, it seems to have got the attention of the actress. In a series of stories, Uorfi lashed out at Bhagat.
She wrote, “Guys, let’s not forget how so many women accused him during me too case!!.
Sharing a screenshot of the Firstpost op-ed, she said, “Jab apni aadhi umar ki ladkiyo ko Instagram or WhatsApp me msg kar rahe the tab un ladkiyo k kapdo ne distract kiya tha na?”
She added, “Men like him will always blame the woman than accept their own shortcomings!! Just because you are a pervert does not mean it is the girl’s fault or what she is wearing! Unnecessarily dragging me into a conversation, commenting on how my clothes are distracting young boys is such a f**ked thing to say! You messaging young girls isn’t a distraction for them, though?”
She further said it was not right to blame women for what they wear, and by giving such remarks, Bhagat was “encouraging men” to put the blame on the women and their clothing. She said, “Stop promoting rape culture, you sickos out there! Blaming women’s clothes for the behaviour of men is so 80s Mr Chetan Bhagat. Who was distracting you when you messaged girls half of your age? Always blame the opposite gender, and never accept your own shortcomings or faults! People like you are misguiding the youth, not me. Encouraging men to put the blame on the women or her clothing when they are at fault.”
She also uploaded a video on her Instagram stories where she said, “I do not understand the need of mentioning my name at a literature festival. I am not an author. Also, you said youth is getting distracted by watching my photos. Leave that aside. First, tell me why you, who is double the age of youth, were sending messages to girls half of your age? Was that not distracting? Were your marriage and your children not getting affected by it?”
‘My statement was taken out of context’ said Chetan Bhagat
In a tweet quoting Firstpost, Bhagat alleged his statement was taken out of context by Firstpost. He said, “I told guys to focus on fitness and their career and not waste their time on Instagram. Apparently, that’s not ok! So they cut my statement, say it out of context, the headline with adding things I never said, and do a click-bait piece with ageism thrown in too. Of course.”
I told guys to focus on fitness and their career and not waste their time on Instagram. Apparently that’s not ok! So they cut my statement, say it out of context, the headline with adding things I never said and do a click-bait piece with ageism thrown in too. Of course. https://t.co/hD77zsjehC
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) November 25, 2022
MeToo allegations against Chetan Bhagat
In October 2018, a journalist leaked chats allegedly sent by Chetan Bhagat where he was “trying to woo her” and ignored her protest that he was married. Soon after, Bhagat released a statement on Facebook and apologised to the person. Later, controversial author Ira Trivedi also accused him. Chetan released a screenshot of an email sent by Ira in retaliation after which she sent him a legal notice.
