Monali Thakur on sexual harassment allegations against her team at Varanasi concert: ‘Deeply troubling for me to…’

Recounting the events that happened on December 22 when she midway left the Varanasi concert, Monali Thakur shared that she and her team were “subjected to severe negligence in basic infrastructural safety, false accusations of harassment, and life-threatening intimidation.”
Monali Thakur walked out of her recent Varanasi concert due to mismanagement and called the organisers “useless, unethical, and irresponsible.” Later, the event management company made sexual harrasment allegations against her crew. On Monday, the singer finally broke her silence on these accusations and slammed the organisers for exploiting the artistes and their onstage crews.
Taking to her Instagram, Monali penned a long note that read, “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 further 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.”
“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” Monali wrote.
Recounting the events that happened on December 22, Monali shared that she and her team were “subjected to severe negligence in basic infrastructural safety, false accusations of harassment, and life-threatening intimidation.” She added that these forced her to leave the stage after performing for 70 miniutes.
“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. There has to be 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”, the singer concluded.