#MeToo Comes Under Question as Netizens Cry Foul After Indian Stand-up Comedian Targeted

#MeToo became the trending topic on social media once again after the release of an alleged audio clip between stand-up comedian and one of the accused Utsav Chakraborty and a girl named Mansi Kukreja, the sister of the victim Mahima.

During the alleged conversation, Mansi supposedly threatened Utsav with legal action if he released screenshots of texts that may prove his innocence.

The audio was made public by a YouTube channel named “Expose Mahima”, with the purported conversation taking place on 14 November 2018.

A Twitter user named Mahima Kukreja put up a Twitter post accusing the comedian of sending her an unsolicited obscene photograph and with him later pleading with her not to make his act public, as it would "ruin" his career.

Since the release of the audio clip, a big section of the Twitterati has been whipped into a frenzy, saying some women are taking advantage of #MeToo, a movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Some of the flabbergasted netizens are slamming the misuse of the #MeToo movement to play the victim card or tarnish others’ public image.

There are some who are raising question on the standup comedian too.

The anti-harassment #MeToo campaign started as a reaction to a scandal around Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was accused by dozens of women working in the film industry of sexual harassment and other sex-related abuse in October 2017. The scandal set off a flurry of similar accusations against powerful men around the world.

A great number of women have shared their own experiences of sexual assault, harassment, or rape, on social media under the hashtag #MeToo.