In a sudden turn of events, a Hyderabad based journalist Swetha Reddy has accused Bigg Boss Telugu organisers of cheating her and indirectly demanding sexual favours. The persons in question are four men working for Telugu channel Star Maa. According to a report in the Quint, a case has been filed at the Banjara Hills police station in Hyderabad.
Reddy is the executive editor of Telugu news channel News Republic TV. In an interaction with The News Minute, she revealed that she was approached by the representatives of the channel in March to be a contestant in the upcoming season of Bigg Boss Telugu. After an agreement from her end, and several meetings around fees and contract, she did not receive the documents. Furthermore, when she met the programming producer of Star Maa in June, and during this time she was allegedly asked lewd and unwarranted questions.
She has been quoted saying, “I told him it wasn’t me, but the show organisers who had approached me to be a part of the show. He then asked me what I would do in order to satisfy the show’s boss. I got furious. Shyam told me that in order to be in the show I need to satisfy the boss. He then fat-shamed me and asked me what I was doing in order to lose weight. I told him Bigg Boss is a mind game and that my weight had nothing to do with it. He again told me that I needed to lose weight to impress the boss.”
“There are other female contestants also who have been approached inappropriately by the show organisers. They have cheated and harassed me and I believe that it’s important I come out in the open and bring the issue to the notice of people. I would never want to go back to the show and in fact such reality shows on television should be banned”, she added.
Star Maa channel and Bigg Boss Telugu are yet to respond to the allegations that have surfaced now.
