Advertisement
Veteran actor Ram Kapoor recently came under the scanner for being ousted from the promotional activities of his JioHotstar series, Mistry. The reason being him passing inappropriate and allegedly sexually derogatory remarks against the staff members of the OTT platform during a promotional interview for the show. The decision to distance him from the promotional activities and the show came from the higher authorities of the platform. Now, the actor has confessed to indeed passing the statement and said that he became a little too comfortable, which led him to do so.
According to Times Now, in an interview with Zoom, Ram Kapoor confessed to having made inappropriate comments on the outfits and the families of the staff members. However, he added that it came from a zone wherein he had become comfortable and was his “Bindaas self.” Well, even if one is comfortable or being himself in a professional setting, that certainly does not give him the leeway to pass sexually derogatory or inappropriate comments on a female staff member’s clothes or family.
The Bade Ache Lagte Hain actor made a** references and also called female staff member’s clothes to be distracting. While Ram Kapoor added that he felt everyone was laughing or joking to his statement, I think the actor should have taken a look around to see the vibe check. In today’s times, when all industries are heavily sensitive about sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior especially after the advent of the MeToo movement, we are pretty sure that no one took his comments as a joke.
Advertisement
However, what made me happy to read Mr Kapoor’s interview is that the actor at least took accountability for his actions. In the interview, Ram Kapoor lastly added, “What matters is that someone felt uncomfortable, and that’s not okay. Whether or not I intended harm is irrelevant. I understand why the platform acted the way it did, and I don’t hold it against them. In fact, I respect their decision. It’s a wake-up call for me. I will find a way to personally apologise to each member of the team who felt hurt that day. I owe them that much—not just as a colleague, but as a human being, and as a father whose son looks up to him.”
It is very common for people to normalize a behavior like this and not take accountability for their actions but at least Ram Kapoor apologized not only to the team but acknowledged that this might set a wrong example to his son. There is a fine line between being comfortable with your loose statements and making someone uncomfortable with them at the same time. Commenting on someone’s clothes, physical attributes, family or personality in a professional setup is not a joke anymore. It comes across as downright crass, crude and insensitive especially if you are a celebrity. I wish just like Ram, many other celebrities who have in the past normalized such behavior, would realize a wake-up call for them too. Also kudos to the JioHotstar team, you did the right thing.
Stay tuned to Koimoi for more Bollywood features!
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News
Advertisement
