Amaal Malik on sexual harassment allegations against uncle Anu Malik: I don’t consider him family

Musician Amaal Malik has said that the sexual harassment allegations against his uncle Anu Malik were humiliating for his family, which he doesn’t consider a part of his own.

Musician Amaal Malik has said that he doesn’t consider uncle Anu Malik as a part of his immediate family. Amaal was asked to comment on the sexual harassment allegations made against his uncle, a veteran music director in Bollywood.

Singer Anu Malik arrives to attend the birthday celebrations of actor Sanjay Khan in Mumbai. (IANS)

Amaal told BollywoodLife, “When it happened, it is obviously a little humiliating. But, more importantly, I would like to say that my family is first my four people. Beyond that, I don’t count anyone as a family. Unki apni family (he has his own family) hai and it was a tough time for them.”

Anu Malik was accused of sexual harassment by singers Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit during the #MeToo movement that swept across Indian media industries late 2018. Pandit claimed that she was underage at the time of the assault. “I went numb and pale in the face. I was only 15 years old then, still in school. Can anyone imagine what it felt like at that moment? It felt like someone had stabbed me in the stomach. I referred to this man as ‘Anu uncle’, he knew my entire family for decades,” she wrote in a post. Anu has denied the allegations.

Amaal will appear as a judge on the latest season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs. Anu, meanwhile, was fired as the judge on Indian Idol following the allegations. “Anu Malik is no longer a part of Indian Idol jury panel. The show will continue its planned schedule & we’ll invite some of the biggest names in Indian music as guests to join Vishal and Neha to judge extraordinary talent of Indian Idol season 10,” an official statement read.

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