MUMBAI: It is "ludicrous" to pull down women who have levelled allegations of sexual harassment against composer Anu Malik, singer Sona Mohapatra said on Wednesday as speculation grew over whether the sponsors of a singing reality show will drop him as a judge.
Malik refused to comment when contacted by PTI to respond to reports of him being sacked again as a judge.
"Have you watched the show? Have you seen the TRPs? No comments," Malik, who was dropped as a judge last year when the allegations first surfaced and reinstated this September, said.
Malik was called out for alleged sexual misconduct and harassment by Mohapatra as well as singers Neha Bhasin and Shweta Pandit.
Singer Hema Sardesai, however, batted for the composer and asked why the women who accused him had stayed silent for years.
"Are you'll trying to say all the other music directors who you'll worked with were Gods? Also if for publicity sake you are throwing stones at him, it's not acceptable...I mean it takes two hands to clap right?" she wrote on Monday.
In an Instagram post, Sardesai, who has often sung for Malik, added that she never compromised on her values in exchange for a track.
Sardesai's comment intensified the row.
"Ludicrous, illogical note trying to pull down all other women who spoke up in @IndiaMeToo by a yesteryear singer (pushed for by Anu M, Sony?) shouldn't, in my opinion, be even taken seriously," Mohapatra tweeted in response.
Bhasin, who labelled Malik a "predator" in a Twitter post last week and criticised Sony TV for getting him back as a judge on "Indian Idol", also questioned Sardesai.
"Takes two hands to clap? Seriously? Slow clap for you mam with both my hands.
Who wants publicity to come out in the open about Anu Malik. Let's not patronise others just because you got lucky to be treated well," she tweeted on Tuesday.