Aishwarya Rai opens up on #MeToo: I have always spoken out, I spoke in the past, I am speaking now

The Me Too movement has received support from many artistes in Bollywood including Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhasker, Anurag Kashyap, Kangana Ranaut and others. Now, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan too has come out in the support of the movement. The actor, who had spoken in the past about being in an abusive relationship with actor Salman Khan, said at an event on Tuesday, “I have always spoken out, I spoke in the past, I am speaking now, and I will continue to speak.”

Aishwarya was at an event for L’oreal where she added that there was no right or wrong time to call out predators or share an incident. She said, “When it comes to helping women find their voice, find the strength, feel confident about sharing their stories, it’s not about the current time. This has been going on since a lot of time and I am glad it has found a certain momentum today.”

Aishwarya also mentioned how social media has enabled conversation about an important issue such as this and help survivors find their voice. She said, “Social media has enabled the conversation and any woman who comes from any part of the world today has a voice that will be heard.”

The Fanney Khan actor, however, refused to comment on singular cases like that of Vikas Bahl or of Alok Nath. She said instead, “The #MeToo movement has been the need of the hour since time immemorial and I hope together we keep the momentum going. At the same time, if a case gets sub judice, we have to respect the law of the land.”

The Me Too movement in India began with actor Tanushree Dutta who accused Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her on the sets of Horn Ok Please. This was then followed by an employee of Phantom accusing director Vikas Bahl of sexual harassment, an incident that was then corroborated by director Anurag Kashyap.