Gouri Kishan requests fans to not ‘harass’ journalist who asked her ‘inappropriate’ question; he says it was meant to be ‘fun’

Gouri also released an official statement on her social media accounts, where she has listed her grievances with the state of the industry. She wrote, “As a public figure, I understand that scrutiny is part of my profession. However, comments or questions, direct or indirect, that target a person’s body or appearance are inappropriate in any context. I wish I had been asked questions about the film. I cannot help but wonder if they would ask a male actor the same, in the same aggressive tone.”

ALSO READ: Gouri Kishan speaks out after sexist remark at film event: ‘I was constantly attacked by a room full of men’

She continued and said, “This is not new but still prevalent: normalising body shaming in jest while perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards. I hope this will be a reminder to anyone who has felt this way that we are allowed to speak up. We are allowed to express our discomfort, question when wronged, and work towards stopping this cycle.”

The actor also appealed to the public and asked them to move on from the incident. “I also want to be clear that this is not an invitation to target or harass the individual involved. Let’s use this moment instead to move forward with greater empathy, sensitivity, and respect on all sides.”

The incident took place during the press meet of the upcoming film Others. Director Abin Hariharan and debutante Aditya Madhavan were also present along with Gouri for this event. The interviewer asked the male actor about Gouri’s weight as during a sequence in the film, he was required to lift her. Without skipping a beat, Gouri interrupted the journalist and pointed out the invalidity and insensitivity of the question. What followed was a full-blown verbal battle, where many journalists ganged up on the actor trying to prove that the question was asked in jest.

Many have pointed out that the silence exercised by co-star Madhavan and director Hariharan during this episode was unfair towards Gouri. While Madhavan clarified in a social media post that he was silent because he was taken aback, he explained himself in detail during an interview with NDTV. He said, “I feel like we should have spoken up definitely, but she was trying to make a point herself. We really didn’t want to interrupt her when she was trying to make a point. There was talking on both sides, and if all of us had started talking, her point wouldn’t have gone across.”

Director Hariharan also spoke about the incident via a video on Instagram. In the video he said, “I noticed that many people questioned why I didn’t speak up there. I am sorry because it was a shock for me too. I haven’t attended many press conferences, and I kept quiet because I thought if I spoke up while Gouri was speaking, it would turn into a bigger issue.” The caption of the video read, “Sometimes, when conflicts strike unexpectedly, words lose direction. It’s not speechlessness. It’s just the space we take to understand what truly deserves our voice. I stand with Gouri.”

Apart from her co-star and director, Gouri received support from people all over the country, and many of her contemporaries and fans lauded her for taking a stand for herself.

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