Monali Thakur breaks silence on sexual harassment claims on her team, Varanasi concert fiasco: ‘Gross abuse of rights’

Monali Thakur took to Instagram to share a long post talking about what happened at the event while calling out the management for mistreating vendors.

Some days back, Monali Thakur had shut down her Varanasi show over poor management. Now, the singer has come forward to slam the organisers for the alleged sexual harassment accusations made by the event management team against her and her crew.

Monali Thakur performed in Varanasi recently.

Monali speaks up

On Monday, Monali took to Instagram to share a long post talking about what happened at the event, and the accusations while calling out the management for mistreating vendors and exploiting them.

“I had hoped not to end 2024 or begin the new year 2025 by addressing the horrific and negative incident my team and I faced in Varanasi. However, after much reflection, I feel it is important to share these unfortunate truths-not only to raise awareness but also to call for reforms in how such matters are handled. Attached is a confession and apology letter issued by the founder of the event organizing company. Hope this letter is sufficient to clear any confusion anyone might have had about the credibility of any of the false defamatory accusations made against my team and myself, as well as the treacherous and unethical conduct of the organizers,” she began her note.

Monali added, “It has been deeply troubling for me to process the reckless and irresponsible behaviour of the event management company's team. Specially, their misuse of laws designed to protect against sexual harassment-laws that are vital for safeguarding people, specially women in our society-is both appalling and unacceptable. Weaponising such laws for personal vendetta, ego satisfaction, or retaliation against those who refused to comply with unethical practices is not only a gross abuse of rights but also deeply disrespectful to genuine survivors of these heinous crimes”.

The singer feels this “reckless behaviour undermines the credibility of survivors who show immense courage in seeking justice and hampers the hard work of those fighting to eradicate such crimes”.

“It is particularly disheartening to see young women participating in such actions, as it damages the cause and creates distrust around an issue that should always be treated with the utmost seriousness,” she added.

Monali recalls the incident

In another post shared on Instagram, Monali recalled the event on December 22, when according to her, she was “subjected to severe negligence in basic infrastructural safety, false accusations of harassment, and life-threatening intimidation”. She said that it forced her to leave the stage after 70 minutes of performance.

“It is absolutely unacceptable to treat vendors poorly, cheat them of their hard-earned money, or con them in any way. Disrespecting and harassing those working behind the scenes-whether they are backstage crew, artist managers, or artist coordinators-is not the way forward. Such behaviour should never be tolerated or entertained and I am confident in saying this on behalf of the entire live entertainment industry, a community that works tirelessly day and night to elevate Indian live entertainment to its highest potential and newest peaks,” Monali shared.

Calls for stricter regulation

Monali, known for hit songs such as Sawar Loon, Karle Pyaar Karle, Moh Moh Ke Dhaage, Dhol Baaje, Cham Cham, Dhanak, Laila Majnu, Badri Ki Dulhania, and Khol De Baahein, further called for stricter regulations to protect performing artists, backstage and onstage crews from exploitation.

“And to ensure a safe, professional, and respectful environment for all parties involved. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the UP Police and the Varanasi Police Department for their swift and effective intervention that day, which helped us regain control of the situation. I am also deeply thankful to the audience of Varanasi for their unwavering love and trust,” she concluded her note.

Last month, Monali had abruptly ended her Varanasi concert, citing an unsafe stage setup that risked injuries. According to reports, she had also accused the organisers of being "irresponsible and unethical," neglecting the safety of performers and the audience. She walked off the stage citing poor arrangements.

At that time, the event company, Back Room Entertainment, had come forward to reject all claims made by Monali. They alleged that Monali and her team harrassed them. They also called her remarks as baseless. In fact, one female organiser also claimed that one of the manager of Monali's team sexually harassed a woman, alleging that her she left the stage because of that.