Assaulted for refusing to carry a model’s jewellery: Makeup artist Bryan William speaks his truth

Nabila, Mina Hasan chime in on the detailed retelling of the violent incident

As several individuals in the Pakistani fashion and beauty sphere continue to call out model Robina Khan Shah for inciting violence and getting a Nabila Salon makeup artist beaten up on the set of a photoshoot, the makeup artist in question, Bryan William, has decided to break his silence and speak his truth.

Previously, Bryan had maintained a dignified silence on the matter, only reposting the Instagram Story posts of eyewitness Mushk Kaleem, as well as those of other models and fellow makeup artists who expressed their solidarity and support for him and shamed the perpetrators for their actions. But, yesterday, he took to the photo-sharing app to pen his experience and counter what Robina had said in her statement. “Yesterday I was physically assaulted and harassed by 5 armed gunmen at the place of my work. Why? Because I refused to carry an expensive jewellery item for a model while she was shooting,” wrote Bryan on his Instagram Story.

The celebrity makeup artist, who has worked with the likes of Saba Qamar, Sanam Saeed Mirza, and Farah Khan Kunder, gave an alleged backstory as to how the conflict began: “It all started when the model asked me to keep her jewellery with me, to which I refused to take responsibility because it was not a part of my job, and more importantly, we're not allowed by NABILA to keep personal items of other models with us. I told her that you can ask the stylist team who is responsible for it to keep for you.”

Bryan’s refusal to comply to Robina’s request to safekeep her expensive jewellery is what triggered the model to react unprofessionally and initiate a verbal argument in which she used bad language and made threats. “This is when she snapped and started abusing and threatening me. We had a brief argument, and then I continued my work, as all this happened in the middle of the shoot and we still had clothes left that needed to be shot,” explained the MUA. 

The firsthand account also consisted of details related to how the verbal argument escalated into a physical feud. Bryan claimed he stayed calm and continued his work until Robina’s husband and his guards barged in on set and began physically assaulting him. “Few moments later, I see 4–5-armed gunman climbing up the stairs, and all of a sudden, I'm being violently dragged from the second floor to the ground floor. As I'm being dragged, the gunmen and the model's husband are beating me mercilessly, without even bothering to have a conversation about the incident,” added Bryan.

After presenting his side of the entire situation and what unfolded, the industry-renowned makeup artist capped off his statement declaring: “This is the truth”.

Following the breaking of this story and the aftermath of industry members speaking out to share their hurt and disappointment, Bryan’s workplace, Nabila Salon, also put out a statement on their Instagram to emphasize their commitment to protecting their employees from any kind of disrespect or attacks on their dignity. “The safety, respect, and dignity of our employees is of utmost importance. We only choose to associate with professionals who share similar values,” read the statement.

Since the scandal broke and the Pakistani fashion and beauty community joined together to denounce what had happened, it has also been revealed that the fashion designer, whose set was disrupted by the breakout of a verbal-turned-physical conflict was ace atelier Mina Hasan. The official Instagram profile of the design house has also put out a statement, condemning the incident: “We were subjected to an unfortunate incident yesterday, where a model in poor taste called her husband and armed guards to assault a team member on set. This behaviour is deplorable and physical violence should never be tolerated.”

The design house also asserted that they do not condone any type of violence or lawlessness and would thus, take measures to hold the perpetrators accountable. “Our team apprehended the situation to the best of our ability to protect [its] member and immediately asked her and her entourage to leave the premises. Needless to say, there will never be a place for such lawlessness here at Mina Hasan and that we will be taking action against those responsible. We hope that we are able to convey a meaningful message so that the perpetrators are held morally accountable, and incidents of this nature are avoided in future.”

“There is no place for men with guns in an industry driven by women,” was the powerful ending note of the statement, which perfectly summarized the reason why this incident should not have occurred in the first place because an industry that employs women and is dominated by them should not be anything less than a safe space where they can comfortably practice their craft.