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Jawed Habib apologises for spitting on woman's hair, cites ‘humorous’ intent
The incident which went viral on social media had taken place at Habib's workshop in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar. In a purported video from the site, the hairstylist could be seen spitting on a woman's head while dressing her hair and is heard saying, “if there is a scarcity of water, use saliva.”
Celebrity hair stylist Jawed Habib landed himself in hot water on Thursday with a video of him spitting on a woman's head while styling her hair going viral. After facing a barrage of criticism from netizens on social media and a rap from the National Commission of Women (NCW), Habib has now issued an apology statement through a video message, in which he said such things are often done with a “humourous” intent during workshops, but said that he was sincerely sorry if someone had felt hurt.
Also Read | Video of Jawed Habib spitting on woman's hair goes viral, Women's commission takes note
“Some words spoken by me during my seminar have hurt a few people,” said the popular hairdresser in his video statement. “I just want to say one thing… these are professional workshops, as in, they are attended by people from within our profession. When these sessions get very long, we have to make them humorous. What can I say? If you are truly hurt, I apologise from the bottom of my heart. Please forgive me, I'm sorry.”
The incident had taken place at Habib's workshop in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar. In a purported video from the site, the hairstylist could be seen spitting on a woman's head while dressing her hair and is heard saying, “if there is a scarcity of water, use saliva.”
The audience can be heard laughing and applauding in the background of the video.
The woman has been identified as Pooja Gupta, the owner of a hairdressing parlour herself. She took to her own social media channels to post a reaction to the incident and said that Habib, who was acting arrogant throughout the seminar, had just called her on stage to humiliate her.
“Yesterday, I attended a workshop of Jawed Habib,” said Gupta. “He invited me on the stage to give me a haircut. He said if there is no water, you can use saliva. From now onwards, I will go to my streetside barber for a haircut, but will not go to Habib.”
Later speaking to news channels, Gupta said, “He was not answering my questions. Then he pushed my head, I objected and said I have cervical issues. Then he spat twice on my hair and said that if you do not have water in your parlour, then you can spit. My husband was making the video. After I came down from the stage, Habib's assistant told me he was joking.”
The National Commission for Women has asked the Uttar Pradesh police to probe the veracity of the purported video.
“The commission has taken this incident very seriously and not only condemns this in strongest possible words, but also seeks your urgent intervention in the matter to investigate the veracity of this viral video for immediate action as per law/procedure,” the NCW said in a letter to the state police.
“This incident also attracts violation of guidelines issued by the Union home ministry under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, whereby spitting in public is a punishable offence in the wake of the Covid pandemic,” it added. “You are, therefore, required to immediately investigate the matter for appropriate action. The action taken/status report must be apprised to the commission at the earliest.”
Officials said the NCW will also send a notice to the hairstylist for a hearing.
