With Bollywood at the epicentre, the MeToo movement in India has exposed many prominent personalities. It all started when actress Tanushree Dutta opened a Pandora’s box with her allegations of sexual harassment against Nana Patekar. However, now in a recent development, things have taken an ugly turn as Tanushree is now facing backlash with Rakhi Sawant alleging the starlet of ‘raping her several times’.
Well aware of the fact that Rakhi Sawant draws controversy like it’s her middle name, there are lingering doubts on whether there’s any truth to her claims. The ridiculous war between the two celebs began when Tanushree called out Rakhi for badmouthing her when the latter replaced her for the Horn Ok Pleassss item song she had walked out of. Since then, Rakhi has managed to actively trash Tanushree’s case, and called her #MeToo story a publicity stunt. In retaliation, Tanushree had filed a 10 crore defamation lawsuit against Rakhi.
Read: Celebrities come to Tanushree Dutta’s support as Nana Patekar responds to harassment allegations
In yet another recent press conference, Rakhi Sawant leveled serious allegations at the starlet and claimed that Tanushree raped her 12 years ago.
“I am too embarrassed to say this but I was raped 12 years ago. Being a girl, I shouldn’t even use this word (rape). I am ashamed, upset and hurting while telling this story,†she stated.
She went on to say that “I want to tell the world that this disgusting incident has taken place with me, not just once but several times. I am afraid to take names because I am getting threats of murder and gang-rape. I have even filed a complaint to the police.â€
“Woh LESBIAN hai aur usne mera RAPE kia: “ #RakhiSawant ’s SHOCKING claims about #TanushreeDutta pic.twitter.com/qWrUOHPDqn
— BollyHungama (@Bollyhungama) October 24, 2018
The actress said that Tanushree was (once) her best friend, and she forced her into drugs, while asserting that she was naive and innocent.
Speaking about the defamation law suit that was filed against her, the star didn’t budge. “I will file a 50 crore defamation case against her for calling me a lower class girl,†she expressed.
The question of how objective and well-intentioned her claims might be is drowned in the drama that her statements come heavily coated in. It’s probably the reason why people dismiss them as attention seeking tactics. But we wonder what would have happened if a man had stepped forward with the same allegations?
While the #MeToo movement emphasizes on believing the survivors, it is becoming far more complicated with the notion of ‘believing all women only’, as it unintentionally goes on to show that women are not flawed and are above reproach. The campaign has given a platform to publicly acknowledge and expose the abusers, but we are still bewildered if it will also set a criterion to decide which victims are to be believed.
