Mumbai: Shweta Tiwari has thanked Raj Thackeray for taking swift action against a man who allegedly abused her online, while clarifying that the accused was not associated with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Last week, Shweta spoke out after allegedly receiving abusive messages on Instagram from users claiming to be Marathis and supporters of Raj Thackeray.
The actor shared screenshots of the accounts that had allegedly sent her the messages and questioned Thackeray about whether he would stand by people who behaved in such a manner.
On Thursday, Shweta revealed that a woman from Thackeray’s team had reached out to her and explained the developments that followed.
Taking to Instagram Stories, she wrote, “A few days ago, I posted a few stories showing how a few men were using extremely derogatory and abusive words against women for absolutely no reason. I also posted their Insta accounts because I genuinely feel that people who behave like this should not be allowed to believe that they can get away with it. I had also raised the question with Raj Thackeray Ji about whether this kind of behaviour is acceptable from people who claim to support him.”
She added, “Within just three days, she shared the phone number of the person involved. And also a handwritten apology letter by him. I genuinely want to thank @adv_snehal_adarkar and the MNS team for taking the effort to look into this, find the person responsible and get back to me- without having me to ask them to do it.”
“I also appreciate that they felt it was important to let me know that they do not take insults against women lightly. Snehal also told me that if I ever face any such problem, I can get in touch with them. That effort was genuinely appreciated, and honestly, I felt better knowing that someone had taken it seriously,” she said.
“But at the same time, I couldn’t help thinking about the larger problem. We may be able to catch one or two people here and there, but what about the thousands, or perhaps millions, of people who hide behind their screens and feel completely invincible?” she continued.
In another Instagram Stories post, Shweta clarified that an advocate from Thackeray’s team had informed her that the man who allegedly abused her online was not associated with the MNS.
“The problem is much bigger than one person or one incident. It is the mentality that makes people believe they can abuse women online without consequences. And that mentality will not change simply because we catch one or two people. I really hope that the world, technology companies and social media platforms eventually find a way to address this properly because online abuse, especially the casual and shameless abuse directed at women, is getting completely out of hand. Still today I want to acknowledge the effort that was made. Thank you for taking it seriously Raj Thackeray ji,” she concluded.
Shweta Tiwari was a contestant on ‘The Traitors Season 2’, where she was eliminated in the show’s seventh episode as an innocent.
