Indian celebrities detonate ‘shameful’ commercial in India

A television commercial for a male body spray was taken off the air in India after receiving several criticisms that said the video incited gang rape.

Bollywood celebrities including Priyanka Chopra , Richa Chadha and Farhan Khan are among those who criticized the commercial for Layer’r Shot, a men’s fragrance brand, calling it “disgraceful”, “disgusting” and “incredibly tasteless”.

The controversial ad features four men who appear to be chasing a frightened woman into a store before cutting to one of the men saying: “We are four, there is only one, who takes this one?”

It’s only when the woman turns around that it’s clear they’re talking about the body spray—which one of the men picks up off a store shelf and uses.

The commercial caused a storm on social media, where critics, including several celebrities, criticized his innuendo as if it was rape.

Many said the timing of the announcement made it particularly insensitive, as it was broadcast just a week after a case in which a 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by five men in the southern city of Hyderabad – the latest in a series of incidents. crimes against women and minority groups across the country.

“This ad is clearly promoting sexual violence against women and girls as well as a rapist mentality among men. The ad is embarrassing and should not be shown in the mass media,” Swati Maliwal, chairman of the Delhi Women’s Commission, wrote to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday.

Within 24 hours, the ministry took the commercial off the air and asked Twitter and YouTube to remove it from their platforms.

In an email sent to Twitter, the ministry said the videos were “harmful in depicting women” and violated the digital media code of ethics.

In a statement Monday, Layer’r Shot apologized for the television ads, saying they were “never intended to hurt anyone’s feelings or promote any kind of culture, as erroneously perceived by some.” .

The brand said it had voluntarily asked all of its media partners to stop airing the ads starting Saturday. But even after the commercial was taken down, the controversy continued.

Actress Richa Chadha was among those who voiced her heartbreak, calling the commercial’s creators “trash.”

“Creatives, script, agency, client, cast… does everyone think rape is a joke?” Chadha tweeted.

Responding to Chadha’s tweet, Chopra called the ad “shameful and disgusting.”

Writer and director Farhan Khan also criticized the announcement.

“What incredibly foolish and twisted minds it must take to think, approve and create these stinking body spray ‘crowd rape’ innuendo ads. Shameful,” tweeted Khan, who is also a United Nations goodwill ambassador for women.

Actress Swara Bhasker said both the perfume brand and its marketing agency were “blind” due to the alleged gang rape of a teenage girl in an upscale region of Hyderabad, India, last Saturday.

The case shocked the state of Telangana, of which Hyderabad is the capital. Telangana Interior Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali said on Saturday that “strong action will be taken against all offenders regardless of their origins”.

It was “a ghastly incident”, the minister tweeted on Saturday.

Source: CNN Brasil

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