B-Town Reacts to Papon’s “Showing Affection” to a Mentee

There’s outrage, but some support as well.

Supreme Court advocate Runa Bhuyan filed a complaint against popular singer Papon on 23 February for allegedly "inappropriately kissing a minor girl", who is a contestant on reality TV show, Voice of India Kids 2018. The incident, according to &TV, which airs the show, happened on 20 February in Mumbai.

Bollywood celebrities, like the rest of the country, are taking to Twitter to express outrage, though Papon is finding support in some quarters as well. From Farah Khan to Raveena Tandon to Monali Thakur, check out B-town’s reactions here:

I know #Papon he is good guy. But there is no doubt that when I saw the video it made me feel uncomfortable. I think he didn't mean to do it but if it was my daughter I would not like it. I think people should not touch other people's children, just to show affection: Farah Khan pic.twitter.com/dKGzPWRrpC

— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018

Disgusting! Shameful!Perverse! This man Papon should be arrested ! The girls parents succumbing to pressure ! The explanations given are ridiculous! Haven’t felt such anger and shame to see this happen and some on tv debates actually defending the act !

— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) February 23, 2018

I got so many calls yesterday for this ridiculous misinterpretation of a man’s gesture of affection! I am a girl n I know what is sexual perversion in a man! And Papon is anything but that! Leave aside for a kid! Lotsa love @paponmusic #iStandbyPapon 🙏🏻https://t.co/UJhX9P8fZH

— Monali Thakur (@monalithakur03) February 24, 2018

Wasn't smothering a child's face with your palm rubbing color all over it for 4 secs enough as fatherly love, that u had to pull the child's face then to strategically peck her on the lip??? There was no wrong camera angle or the child moving her face mistakenly BTW 🙄😡#papon👎

— Gauahar Khan (@GAUAHAR_KHAN) February 23, 2018

Forcibly “kissing” a 11yr old girl-child is not fatherly affection. Its sexual opportunism at the very least! As a mother, woman, human being there’s no other ‘angle’ I can look at it from. #unacceptable #papon

— Kausar Munir (@KausarMunir) February 23, 2018

If anybody behaved with my daughter the way #Papon did with the teenage girl I would slap him several times in such a way that no one dared behave that way again

— Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (@suchitrak) February 23, 2018

Regardless of his intention. the action towards the child was very inappropriate https://t.co/4Ir7Qn8Nhz

— Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (@suchitrak) February 23, 2018

Sexual abuse cannot be ignored in the name of fatherly love or liberal society. What #Papon did is a legit case of child sexual abuse. Not only he, but the adults who stood around being silent accomplices of this abuse should be tried for this crime.

— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) February 23, 2018

#Papon body language and his brash attitude while abusing the child is a sign of arrogance and complete disregard for the law. This is a benchmark trait of every powerful sexual predator

— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) February 23, 2018