Shilpa Shetty believes India needs a #YouToo for men as they are at fault

Shilpa Shetty, Malaika Arora and Pulkit Samrat have reacted to the wave of #MeToo movement finally hitting the Indian shores.

Actor Shilpa Shetty on Sunday said it is time women spoke about their harassment but not under the hashtag ‘MeToo’ but ‘YouToo’ as it is the men who are at fault. Shilpa applauded Tanushree Dutta for speaking up about the alleged harassment she faced from Nana Patekar on a film’s set ten years ago and said it has kick-started a movement.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra says the #MeToo movement needs a name change (IANS)

“In any milieu, actors, entrepreneurs, the working environment should feel safe. That should be a prerequisite. This entire movement which has been initiated by Tanushree Dutta, my heart goes out to her, as a woman and on a human level because something like this was brushed under the carpet,” Shilpa told PTI.

Patekar has denied the allegations of sexual harassment.

Shilpa said women should not feel weak or blame themselves and should rather be strong today. “We don’t know the nitty-gritties of the goings on but it has kick-started a movement. People have suffered. It’s time women wake up and take charge. It shouldn’t be hashtag MeToo, it should be YouToo, for the men. It’s shouldn’t be the women, cowing down and saying oh #MeToo,” she added.

Reality show judge Malaika Arora also spoke on the subject. She said it is important to create safe working environment for women and believes the only way to achieve that is if women come out and name perpetrators.“We can keep talking about it that we want to work in a safe environment. But the only way we can achieve that is when we talk about it and actually call out the supposed perpetrators. That’s the only way,” Malaika told PTI.

Actor Pulkit Samrat requested the film fraternity to come together and remove “toxic” people from the industry.

The Fukrey actor on Sunday took to social media to share a lengthy letter expressing his stance on the whole row. “As a part of the Bollywood industry that stands by values such as equality, freedom, and non-discrimination, I feel I need to stand up and address the hypocrisy. The case in point: Tanushree Dutta accusing Nana Patekar of harassment on the sets of a film. As soon as the story broke out, I heard the usual talk going around: Why didn’t she say all of this sooner? Why did she wait for almost a decade since the incident? Nana Patekar? But he is such a nice guy. He has done so much for farmers,” he wrote in the letter.

Pulkit then blamed the society for “encouraging silence”.“As a society, we somehow encourage the culture of silence. We are scared to rub powerful people the wrong way for fear of repercussions it might have on our career or social standing. Apathy of authorities does not help matters.”

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