Chetan Bhagat responds to #MeToo allegations: 'I am not a harasser; never was, never will be'

Among the public personalities named in a wave of #MeToo allegations that have flooded Twitter timelines in India over the past week, was the writer Chetan Bhagat. Screenshots shared on social media by a person who wished to remain unnamed indicated a scenario where the writer had engaged in an unsought flirtation. A second account on Facebook from a female journalist said that Bhagat had refused to answer questions during a (phone) interview unless she sent him her pictures. A third woman — who had authored an erotic book — made public a conversation in which Bhagat seemingly asked her questions like “What is the wildest sexual thing you have ever done?” and “Do your sexual partners get intimidated by you?” The author initially responded with a letter on Facebook, addressing the screenshots shared. Then, in a longer post, Bhagat said he was being “attacked and vilified. The post — a letter written to his fans and readers — and shared on Facebook on the morning of 10 October, reads: “I want you to know that I am suffering because my name is being dragged into needless controversies, and my family and I are being harassed. In the garb of the #MeToo movement, which definitely has genuine cases, I am being attacked and vilified. Let me tell you upfront — I am not a harasser. Never was, never will be.” Stating that “a flirtatious, but friendly and polite conversation” that was a personal matter had been blown out of proportion, Bhagat said “…my name was added to a growing list of people accused of the most heinous crimes, and flashed all over as a part of rape, sexual assault and all kinds of major criminal activity stories”. He also said that screenshots of WhatsApp conversations could be doctored, and the veracity of such claims could be doubted. “The #MeToo movement has its good parts and has some good people with genuine grievances. I am with them. However, the movement is already getting corrupted and genuine survivors will suffer if people don’t take it seriously,” he said. Read the full text of his Facebook post here:

Bhagat’s previous post regarding the “flirtatious screenshots” — in which he said he had “found this person special, and different from all others”, that he “had not felt that kind of connection in a while”, and an apology to his wife — can be read here: