The #MeToo campaign has taken social media by storm with women journalists publicly outing sexual predators in the media industry. Amidst several men who were named and shamed, two women have accused well-known author Chetan Bhagat of sexual harassment.
The first accusation is by someone who chose to remain anonymous. The WhatsApp chat screenshots shows Bhagat insisting upon “woo her” and that he needs a “certain IQ”.
And it goes on. Chetan Bhagat @chetan_bhagat pic.twitter.com/xyI9tSgfMc
— ???? Sheena (@weeny) October 6, 2018
Later, in a Facebook post, Bhagat confirmed that the screenshots were genuine and also apologised. He wrote, “As I also say in the screenshots, I realized I was married and this was not about looking for any action. I just had not felt that kind of connection in a while.”
https://www.facebook.com/chetanbhagat.fanpage/posts/10156765769531602
While Bhagat tried to pass this off as ‘a phase’, a second woman spoke up against his ‘creepy behaviour’.
Journalist Anushree Majumdar wrote a Facebook post that during a telephonic interview, Bhagat had demanded her to send a picture of her, and refused to answer her questions until she did. Majumdar says she complied and sent him a blurry picture, to which he replied “Oh tu badi cute hai.” Majumdar added that Bhagat has always been “a low-grade creep.”
https://www.facebook.com/anush84/posts/10157869231643102
Several other famous men working with ‘reputed’organisations, have been outed as ‘habitual’ predators, including author Kiran Nagarkar, retired judge Kolse Patil, singer Kailash Kher and cultural critic Sadanand Menon and AIB comic Gursimran Khamba.
Also Read: Media #MeToo: Women Professionals Are Speaking Up And The Internet Is Listening