Anu Malik ‘steps down’ as Indian Idol judge over harassment allegations

Indian musician denies all allegations and says he has taken a short break with no plans to quit the show anytime soon

Anu Malik, famous Indian singer and composer, has stepped down as a reality show — Indian Idol 11 — judge after being repeatedly accused of misconduct and sexual harassment by multiple women – including celebrities and well-known singers.

According to The Economic Times, the veteran musician was first accused of misconduct last year during the #MeToo wave and was briefly dropped from the singing reality show.

However, Malik denied all the allegations, saying that he has taken a short break with no plans to quit the show anytime soon.

“I have not quit the show. I have taken a three-week break. I want to clear my name and return to the show. If someone is saying things about me again and again on social media, it gets to you. I wrote an Insta post explaining that I am in a dark space. This Twitter campaign has been going on since a while and I was tired of these false, malicious accusations on social media. The best thing is once you clear your name and go back to business, it is good for everyone,” Malik posted on Instagram after a massive social media blow-out against him.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B42Q57Hl7ye/

The criticism against the singer got a second wind after his reinstatement in the show this September, to which Sona Mohaptra—another celebrated Indian singer who has accused Malik of harassment — reacted by penning an open letter in which she recounted several allegations of harassment against the accused music director.

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She also called upon fellow musicians — Sonu Nigam, Neha Kakkar and Vishal Dadlani — for supporting Malik through-out.

Along with Mohaptra, other veteran singers – including Neha Bhasin, Shweta Pandit and Alisha Chinai – have also stepped forward while supporting her harassment allegations.

While taking it to the micrologging site, Mohaptra thanked all supporters of #MoveOutMalik campaign for holding up with her stance.

"Thank you to all the women & men & the media of India who supported our campaign #MoveOutMalik. A repeat offender like Anu Malik on national tv triggered a lot of trauma, pain & stress in many of our lives. I have been ill for a while & I hope to sleep well tonight," the singer wrote on Twitter.

Thank you to all the women & men & the media of India who supported our campaign #MoveOutMalik . A repeat offender like Anu Malik on national tv triggered a lot of trauma, pain & stress in many of our lives. I have been ill for a while & I hope to sleep well tonight. 🙏🏾

— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) November 21, 2019

Sona also communicated the matter to Minister of Child and Development Smriti Irani, requesting her to take strict actions against Anu Malik and the channel.

The story originally appeared on The Economic Times