METOO CONTROVERSY - ''MY BROTHER EVENTUALLY SHOT HIMSELF''

During a recent interaction with a Bollywood media, actress Preity Zinta was to share her opinion on the MeToo movement. She said, "Bollywood is one of the safest industries to work and some women are using the MeToo movement for personal vendetta or for publicity."

Her reply irked a lot of people because some people felt it was demeaning the victims. This has created a controversy on social media and now Preity has come up with a details explanation to it. She has blamed bad editing of her interview for the controversy.

Her statement reads as follows:

"To all the women out there. I'm sorry if I have unintentionally hurt your sentiments on the #Metoo movement.

It's ironic that someone who has gone through abuse, as I have, has to clarify this. First I am a huge supporter of the movement and it's unfortunate that some of my comments were taken out of context.

My reason for saying "I wish something like this would have happened to me" in the film industry with a smile was because I would have reacted and slapped the person. So it never happened and much later when it happened I did react & the whole world saw it.

Having said that, I recognize that not everyone is in a position to fight back and I don't want to marginalize the women that have been abused.

The Sweetu & MeToo comment was not mine but I was quoting a man, which implied that men are now cautious in their approach to women at work.

The reason I was smiling in the interview was because it's an interview & I was doing movie promotions. The reason I don't want this movement diluted with false accusations is because my brother went through it and eventually shot himself.

Women should not be victim shamed and should be encouraged to come forward but men can not be automatically vilified either. If the #Metoo movement has to really be the change then men have to support it too.

I have seen both sides of the coin & I'm very hurt & sad I have to write such a long clarification specially after advocating & fighting for women's rights all my life. I hope in the future there is more trust, specially from women because if we don't stand together there really is no movement."
 

*Preity Zinta's statement not spell-checked