Social Media & Jawed Habib: The Free Falling Star
— By Ritoo Jhha
Social media exploded last week when a video emerged showing leading Hairdresser and entrepreneur, Jawed Habib spitting on a women’s hair whom he was styling on stage, during a training seminar in Muzaffarnagar in Western UP.
Jawed later apologised after a case was registered against him and has said that it was an attempt to make the seminar “interesting”.
Speaking of the incident, Jawed told ANI, “The attempt was made to make the seminar best and interesting, it was not done intentionally. I know that some people have been hurt by this action. I sincerely apologise for this and my mistake too.”
There was an uproar from the hairdressing community given that the industry has already been reeling under setbacks due to the COVID 19 pandemic and such behaviour from an iconic name will definitely not put the business in good light.
Jawed Habib is known to attract huge crowds at his training seminars that happen across the country. The audience get attracted and mesmerised by his personality as much as by his skills. A teacher who can communicate to the ground is always in huge demand by brands and audiences alike. Jawed Habib has definitely carved a niche for himself in this category specially so in the Tier 2 & 3 towns. However he seems to have lost the fine balance between education and entertainment every now and then. In an atmosphere vitiated by communal sentiments it makes matters worse.
In a video response to the brouhaha, Jawed has gone on to tender a rather frail apology, “I just want to say one thing these are professional workshops, as in, they are attended by people from within our profession. When these sessions get very long, we have to make them humorous. What can I say? If you are truly hurt, I apologise from the bottom of my heart. Please forgive me, I am sorry,”.
Responding to BE, Jawed had this to say, “I do my work to change the industry & it needs change only by education. Let’s all do our work”.
On being summoned, he appeared and tendered a written apology before the National Commission for Women on Tuesday, 11th January, 2022.
Enough has been said about COVID appropriate behaviour and what needs to be emphasised is appropriate professional behaviour by the stake holders and specially so by the ‘celebrities’ in this sector.