Actor-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt has slammed TikTok influencer Faizal Siddiqui’s controversial video, in which he has been accused of propagating violence against women. Pooja took to Twitter and wrote that TikTok needs to look into the matter and take the video down.
Reacting to the video, in which Faisal takes revenge on a girl for leaving him by splashing her with a liquid that does damage to her face, she wrote, “What on earth is wrong with people? This is depraved. How can you allow this kind of content on your platform @TikTok_IN. This man needs to be taken to task. As for the woman in the video-do you realise what immense harm you are causing by participating in this?”
What on earth is wrong with people? This is depraved. How can you allow this kind of content on your platform @TikTok_IN This man needs to be taken to task. As for the woman in the video-do you realise what immense harm you are causing by participating in this? https://t.co/I5OLTEZGVe
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) May 18, 2020
The National Commission for Women has complained to TikTok India, asking that the video be taken down. The chairperson has said that she will take the matter up with the police as well, according to an India.com report.
Faizal is the brother of TikToker Amir Siddiqui, who was recently the subject of another controversy involving YouTuber Carry Minati. In an Instagram post, Faizal wrote that the liquid was water, and not acid. “My Intention was never to hurt anyone in any capacity. As a social media influencer, I realise my responsibility and apologise to anyone who was offended by the video,” he wrote, adding that the version of the video circulating online has been doctored. “I’m adding the first part of the video clip, where you can clearly see that I’m drinking water. So please try and understand. It’s WATER! Acid kaun peeta hai?” he continued, saying that he has taken the video down, and hopes that his followers will support him.
To this, influencer Divya Agarwal pointed out in the comments, “You think a drunkard throwing alcohol on anyone like that is right?”
Earlier singer Sona Mohapatra had also slammed Faizal, and said that violence against women has been normalised in society. She’d taken a dig at actor Salman Khan in her comments: “Demeaning women is normalised in our culture.We grew up with stories of Salman Khan,breaking bottles on his girlfriends head in public, yet the country’s biggest star? Needs to stop.”
Sona had also expressed relief that she had never joined TikTok, a video sharing platform that has often been criticised for failing to moderate objectionable content. She had written, “So relieved I could never be persuaded to get on to this low life platform & even in Covid19 times where there was a paid branded opportunity, said no. Music labels scout for #TikTok stars to lip sync our songs to get better ‘reach’”.
