Rajinikanth Supports #MeToo Movement, But Cautions Women Against Misuse

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth today extended support to the #MeToo movement that is sweeping across the nation but also cautioned against its misuse.

"MeToo is a good movement, but women should not misuse it... MeToo should be used correctly," Rajinikanth told reporters at Chennai airport this morning when asked for his comments on it. The actor was returning to the Tamil Nadu capital from Varanasi after wrapping up the shoot for an upcoming film.

Rajinikanth was also asked about the sexual harassment charges against veteran Tamil film lyricist Vairamuthu by several women, including playback singer Chinmayi Sripaada, to which he said the poet-lyricist had denied the allegations and agreed to follow the law.

"Vairamuthu has denied the allegations saying nothing like that has happened. He has agreed to follow law," Mr Rajinikanth said.

Chinmayi Sripaada has accused Vairamuthu of harassing her when she was in Switzerland with him at a launch event. Chinmayi alleged that Vairamuthu wanted her to visit him at his hotel room after-hours and when she refused to give in to his wishes, she was sent back to India with her mother, who had also accompanied her to the destination.

Vairamuthu had denied all allegations against him on Twitter and said "Spreading defamatory things against famous personalities is becoming a culture across the country. I have been continuously humiliated in recent times and this is also part of it. I will not bother about falsehood. Time will tell the truth."

The MeToo movement exploded after actor Tanushree Dutta revived a decade old case of harassment against Nana Patekar. Several actresses and artistes have shared their #MeToo stories and have named prominent figures like Alok Nath, Kailash Kher and Rajat Kapoor as alleged sexual predators.

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