Actress Shweta Tiwari has clarified that the men who allegedly targeted her with abusive and derogatory comments online were not members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The clarification comes days after the actress questioned MNS chief Raj Thackeray over the behaviour of a troll who claimed to be a supporter of the party.
Shweta had earlier called out several social media users for using offensive language against women. She had also expressed her concern after noticing that some of the accounts appeared to belong to people from respectable families.
On Thursday (August 27), Shweta shared a detailed update on Instagram, explaining what happened after she raised the issue with Raj Thackeray.
She wrote, "A few days ago, I posted a few stories showing how some men were using extremely derogatory and abusive words against women for absolutely no reason. I also posted their insta accounts because I genuinely feel that people who behave like this should not be allowed to believe that they can get away with it. I had also raised the question with Raj Thackeray Ji about whether this kind of behaviour is acceptable from people who claim to support him."
MNS Advocate Contacts Shweta Tiwari
According to Shweta, an advocate associated with the MNS committee subsequently reached out to her and clarified that the men she had highlighted were not members of the party.
She said, "She told me very clearly that they do not appreciate or support this kind of behaviour towards women at all. She also clarified that the men involved were not members of their party. She told me that, whatever had happened, they would try to find them and asked me to give them a few days. Within just three days, she sent me shared the phone number of the person involved. And also an handwritten apology letter by him."
Shweta also posted a screenshot of the handwritten apology letter on her Instagram story.
The Kasautii Zindagii Kay actress thanked the MNS team for following up on the matter without requiring her to repeatedly contact them.
She added, "I also appreciate that they felt it was important to let me know that they do not take insults against women lightly. Snehal also told me that if I ever face any such problem, I can get in touch with them. That effort was genuinely appreciated, and honestly, I felt better knowing that someone had taken it seriously."
Shweta Tiwari Raises Concern Over Online Abuse
Shweta said the incident also made her think about the larger issue of online abuse. She wrote, "But at the same time, I couldn't help thinking about the larger problem. We may be able to catch one or two people here and there, but what about the thousands, or perhaps millions, of people who hide behind their screens and feel completely invincible?"
The actress went on to stress that the issue extends beyond an individual troll or a single incident.
"The problem is much bigger than one person or one incident. It is the mentality that makes people believe they can abuse women online without consequences. And that mentality will not change simply because we catch one or two people. I really hope that the world, technology companies and social media platforms eventually find a way to address this properly because online abuse, especially the casual and shameless abuse directed at women, is getting completely out of hand."
