Comedian, screen-writer and lyricist Varun Grover issued a detailed statement denying the allegations of sexual assault against him, after his name cropped up as a perpetrator in the ongoing #MeToo campaign. Calling it a ploy to “muddy the waters and sabotage the entire movement altogether,” he said the woman’s account was “rife with inconsistencies” while asking people to keep the movement alive and to not get bogged down by such false cases.
The writer, who said it was perfectly fine for people to want to stay away from him as long as he was branded a perpetrator, declared that the account was completely fabricated and that he denies it with conviction. The accuser, who was into theatre and had claimed to be a junior to Grover at BHU in 2001, said that he harassed her sexually under the pretext of explaining a drama.
Varun Grover. Man. Why. #metoo #believeher #timesup pic.twitter.com/ZSczpo4PMJ
— hk {on a hiatus} (@PedestrianPoet) October 9, 2018
Grover said that the accuser’s account was plagued with inconsistencies and factual errors starting right from the name of the college, and insisted that he was ready to submit to any legal or independent inquiry and present his case.
While the accuser had alleged that Grover had invited her to the music club to talk to her about a play called ‘Tilottama’ which he was writing at the time, he declared that neither did the venue have a space fit for rehearsal nor was he into mythology at the time of the incident, let alone writing a play.
Grover attributed the accuser’s inclination to refer to mythology in her allegations owing to his recent work in the Netflix series Sacred Games. He said all the facts that have been presented can be cross-checked with the 100 or more students who used to perform or attend the drama performances in college at the time.
He also stated that he has never touched a person inappropriately in his life.
Here's my detailed statement about the completely fabricated, misleading, and defamatory allegations against me. Am absolutely willing to cooperate and clear my name. Let's not allow such agenda-driven tactics to derail this movement please. pic.twitter.com/VTFeIjygcl
— वरुण (@varungrover) October 9, 2018
Image courtesy: Google
