‘May your tribe grows’: Saurabh Verma who refused to act in ‘derogatory’ body spray ad Layer’r applauded

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, June 21

Netizens recently slammed two derogatory men’s body perfume ads for promoting sexual assault and rape culture. Perfume band Layer’r Shot released two ads, which show a group of men jokingly harassing a woman, promoting rape and gangrape culture. When the ad surfaced online, it caused a nationwide outrage. Twitterati not only called out the ad but also asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to take action. The body spray brand later apologised and asked its media partners to stop the telecast with immediate effect.

Now, a new piece of information has surfaced on LinkdIn, which is probably the only positive detail around this otherwise shameful ad that to everyone’s surprise got the approval in the first place.

It has come to light that actor Saurabh Verma, who was approached to act in the body spray ad, politely refused to do so even if it meant losing work. His friend Abbas Mirza shared the story of how Saurabh Verma stood up against the ideology of the ad and even conveyed it to the makers that he found it ‘derogatory and demeaning for women’. Abbas also shared screenshots from Saurabh’s chat with the casting agent for the ad.

Applauding Saurabh’s courage and Abbas’ intention to share his story, many commented on the post. A user wrote, “Thanks for sharing Abbas. It’s so good to know that there are still creative people out there who don’t pawn common sense for work. Like you said, may his tribe grow.”

A worried mother also shared her thoughts on the entire episode. She said, “Much relieved to see this. Being a mother and a mother of a girl child, I died many slow deaths inside when the ad was broadcast. I have refrained from making any public comments dissing the ad simply because I felt negativity spreads too fast and more people will see the ad out of curiosity. This is my first comment on the subject. I am relieved there is consciousness alive in the society.

Another comment read, “Kudos to Saurabh, for turning down this kind of work in a cut-throat industry. And kudos to you, Abbas for narrating his story. Goes to show the storyteller is as important as the story itself.”

“Truely Appreciate Saurabh Verma. The industry needs more stars and heros like him,” wrote another user.

“Thanks for sharing this story – it’s easy to do armchair activism but takes guts to sacrifice self interest to stand for what one believes is right. hope this inspires us all!” commented one more person.

Here is the post and all the comments it received:

On facing the backlash Layer’r shot issued a statement that said, “This is with reference to our recent two TV advertisements of Layer’r SHOT on various broadcasting platforms. We, the brand Layer’r SHOT would like to inform one and all that only after due & mandatory approvals, we have aired the advertisements, wherein, we never intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments or feelings or outrage any women’s modesty or promote any sort of culture, as wrongly perceived by some. However, we sincerely apologise for the advertisements that consequentially caused rage amongst individuals & several communities and beg their pardon. Most importantly, we have voluntarily informed all our media partners to stop the telecast/broadcasting of both the TV advertisements from 4th June with immediate effect.”