Kangana Ranaut recently said that she was banned in the film industry after she came out in support of the MeToo movement. Kangana, who has previously also dubbed the movement a failure, said that it couldn’t make anything happen and the women she supported vanished. She had come out in support of actor Payal Ghosh in 2020 after the latter accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment.
Kangana, who is currently seen as the host of Lock Upp, made the comments in a recent episode of the reality TV show after fashion designer and contestant Saisha Shinde spoke about a leading designer inviting her to her room and doing the same with seven to eight other boys. After listening to Saisha’s story, Kangana said, “I think the sexual exploitation of young people is so common, especially in the film industry, in the fashion industry. No matter how much we defend the industry, it’s the truth…While it gives so many opportunities, it also shatters many dreams and leaves people permanently scarred. Yeh kaala sach hai (this is the black truth).”
Kangana explained that it’s true that sexual exploitation happens in every industry, but she believes that people have got a license in the entertainment industry as they point out the clothes and gossip about the victims and say that it’s okay for it to happen to them. She added, “Even when MeToo happened here, what happened to that? Nothing. Wo ladkiyan jo bahar aayi thi, gayab hain, sabki sab gayab hain from the face of this planet. Aur jinko maine support kiya tha, I was banned from the industry, and ladkiyan gayab hain (The women that had come forward with accusations, they have all vanished from the face of the planet. I was banned from the industry, while the women I supported disappeared).”
Saisha Shinde had revealed during the conversation that during her initial days in the industry, when she was known as Swapnil Shinde, a leading designer had exploited her. She recalled that he called her to his hotel room, and told her stories about how he is living out of a suitcase and doesn’t have a caring person in his life. She recalled, “After hearing this, I hugged him, and of course we had sex. I was in touch with him, we met often. Later I found out from my friends that they also were told the same story about the suitcase.”
Saisha said that the designer literally had a boyfriend in every metropolitan city. She shared that while she did not speak to anyone about the designer, he himself spread the news in the industry after which she was banned and wasn’t allowed to participate in fashion week.