Somy Ali Says She Believes Tanushree Dutta’s Allegations of Harassment at Home

Mumbai – Actress and activist Somy Ali has voiced her support for Tanushree Dutta, stating that she believes Tanushree’s claims of being harassed in her own home.

Somy, who heads the U.S.-based NGO No More Tears, which supports and rehabilitates victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, said she understands Tanushree's experience because she has “lived on the other side of silence.”

“Tanushree spoke about being harassed, gaslit, spied on by a maid allegedly planted in her home, poisoned, defamed, and subjected to deep-rooted misogyny masked as fame,” Somy said. “While some in the media mocked her and others dismissed her mental health, very few asked the most important question — what if it’s all true? What if her experience isn’t the exception but the norm?”

She went on to say that Bollywood has long struggled with a culture of toxic impunity, where influential men are revered and survivors are sidelined.

“I know because I was once part of that world,” Somy added. “I’ve seen so-called ‘auditions’ that had nothing to do with acting. I’ve seen women punished for saying ‘no.’ I’ve seen survivors break down mentally while their abusers walked away with national honors.”

Somy also criticized how, instead of support, survivors like Tanushree often face a well-oiled damage-control campaign: “When someone like Tanushree lifts the veil, the response isn’t empathy but spin. PR teams go into overdrive. The smear campaigns begin. Anonymous leaks spread half-truths. And the survivor is painted as mentally unstable — ‘paranoid,’ ‘delusional,’ ‘imagining things.’ It’s the oldest trick in the abuser’s playbook.”

She added that while Tanushree’s claims might sound extreme, they could very well be true.

Earlier this week, Tanushree posted an emotional video on social media, tearfully pleading for help.

In the video, she said, “Guys, I’m being harassed in my own home. I just called the police because I got scared. They came to my house. I’m so tired of this harassment. It’s been going on since 2018 — since #MeToo. Today, out of frustration, I called the police. Please help me. Do something before it’s too late.”

With inputs from IANS