Shweta Mohan, who was one of the singer's at AR Rahman's concert in Chennai, which has been in news of late for all wrong reasons, faced the ire of the netizens after she penned a note defending the Oscar-winning music composer. Rahman's concert in Chennai on Sunday led to a stampede-like situation at the venue, leaving many people injured and horrified.
A crowd of 50,000 fans had gathered at the venue in Chennai on September 10, Sunday, to see the music maestro perform live. However, due to poor management and facilities, a number of fans could not even enter the venue despite having tickets, as the organisers cited overcrowding.
A number of females who were present at the concert complained of being harassed and groped by men taking advantage of the crowd, and harrowing ordeals of concert-goers have now surfaced online.
Shweta Mohan defends Rahman
Amid the raging controversy, Shweta, who was one of the singers at the concert, shared a post by a woman on Twitter, who claimed she was groped at the venue.
Sharing the post, she wrote, "Unable to ignore this tweet. For an icon who has stood for peace, love and humanity all his life, it is extremely unfortunate that this has happened at his concert where the music has always eased the pain for all attending."
Defending the singer-composer, she went on to say, "Does ARR Sir deserve such perpetrators as fans attending his concert? He deserves better, way better."
She added that Rahman makes sure to dedicate a song for women at every concert of his as a reminder for men to respect women.
Netizens slam Shweta Mohan
As soon as Shweta's note went viral, she was slammed for being "insensitive" and "tone deaf". Netizens pointed out how her post was more of an endorsement for Rahman and not a sincere apology.
"No one here is actually questioning ARR’s character. Is a sincere apology such a hard thing. It would have taken him to the next level if he did that. This is not always about him. This demigod stature tht people give to celebrities need to stop. Without ppl they’re nothing!" a user wrote.
Another wrote, "Would have sounded more genuine if you had only responded to the affected person and not praised your ARR sir in the same message. If he has taken money for the event, he is responsible for what has happened..!"
Post the event, the organisers took to their social media handle to issue an official apology. However, Rahman did not apologise, but said that he was deeply disturbed.