JOIN US#MeToo: Divya Gopinath accuses Alencier of harassment
The ‘Me Too’ movement has triggered a fresh revelation of sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry, landing award-winning actor Alencier Ley Lopez in trouble. Actor Divya Gopinath posted a video on her Facebook page, on Tuesday, detailing incidents of harassment by Alencier, 52, on a film set.
Divya had earlier posted about the harassment, anonymously, on the blog India Protests. The veracity of her accounts was questioned by many on social media; the discussions also veered off to abusive comments about women “cooking up” stories of sexual abuse to join the ‘Me Too’ campaign. “Finally, managed to talk to my parents. They will stand rock solid with me. Time to end anonymity. The actress who wrote this letter to India Protests is me,” Divya wrote as an introduction to her video message.
The actor wrote about a series of incidents in which Alencier sexually harassed her on the sets of a film they worked in – she said Alencier talked to her in a sexually explicit manner and once, forcibly entered her room drunk. Divya also wrote about an incident where Alencier got into her bed while she was sleeping. She said the actor caught her by hand and wanted her to lie down for some more time.
“While I am writing this, I know there are more women in the same film and other films who have a lot more stories to share about the real Alencier. It took a lot of time and trauma to put this on mail and I understand others, who went through similar or worse situations, will take their own time,” she wrote. In the video, Divya said she had initially forgiven Alencier after he apologised to her but later, came to know that he had treated women badly in other film sets. “With ‘Me Too’ emerging as a movement, I thought it was the right time to expose him,” she said.
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Alencier had made his mark in theatre before he started doing prominent characters in films. He won the Kerala State Award for best character actor for his performance in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017).