Actor Usman Mukhtar recently revealed that he has “been harassed, blackmailed, bullied online for one and a half years” by an artist he collaborated with back in 2016 for a music video. He also added that this caused him distress and anxiety. Following his post the accused singer, Mehrooz Waseem came forward with her side of the story.
Who is Mehrooz Waseem?
She is a singer from Islamabad, who first launched two singles in 2007 and then the song ‘Azaad’ in 2016, whose video is the centre of the conversation. She hasn’t released any song after that year but has been part of open mic nights and television transmissions.
Her Side
Mehrooz Waseem posted a picture of a statement referred to the deputy director of Cyber Crime Wing at FIA, in which she accused Usman Mukhtar of being “extremely unprofessional, difficult and arrogant” during the video shoot and for sexually harassing her at a mutual friend’s birthday.
She explained that she was “hesitant to work with him due to the extremely high charges”, which she could not afford. However, he convinced her that his rates were reasonable and had willingly offered her a discount.
Mehrooz further recalls that during that time he would talk about his personal life; mental health, past relationships and future plans, instead of focussing on the shoot. She also revealed that she wasn’t given any signing agreement or concept paper, due to which she had to write the screenplay herself.
According to her in January 2020, she wrote about the incident when Usman Mukhtar had groped her, but she immediately received a call from his friend who “gaslighted, threatened and intimidated” her to remain silent.
She stated in the end that the purpose of this letter “is to raise awareness about a widespread social issue that all women and even men experience, yet are victim-blamed and silenced for it, due to the culture of silence that permeates Pakistani society.”
Mehrooz later posted a video in which, according to her, Usman is “threatening” her.
People on social media questioned her on how exactly he was threatening her in the video, to which she replied: “It sounds like he’s frustrated at me for not listening. Even then his tone and usage of words are completely inappropriate”.
Usman Mukhtar’s Response
He denied the allegation by putting out the FIA case number and said: “The FIA statement shared by the woman on her social media is not the official statement given to the FIA. That was on a stamp paper received by the organization. This is a word document that can be drafted by anyone.” He further added that he is a feminist, himself, and strongly condemn the use of his story for anti-feminist movements.
People’s Reaction
According to Mehrooz, she is getting bullied by Usman’s fans after coming forward with her side of the story. After which, the actor urged people not to send her abusive and offensive messages. He stated: “Please respect the fact that this is now a matter for the authorities to resolve.”
Also, several celebrities came in support of the ‘Sabaat’ actor, however, another controversy surfaced when Ali Zafar began comparing his situation with Meesha Shafi to that of Usman Mukhtar.
However, Usman quickly retorted by asking not to be clubbed with them.
The case is now being legally handled and only time will tell the truth. Stay tuned to Galaxy Lollywood for all the updates.
