Alencier refuses to apologise for his remarks at the recent Kerala Awards Show.
At the Kerala State Film Awards 2022, Alencier Ley Lopez was awarded the Special Jury award for his role in the film Appan.
Malayalam actor Alencier Ley Lopez has been grabbing the headlines after his sexist remark at the recently held Kerala State Film Awards 2022 ceremony. The actor’s comments led to a huge controversy and now the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an organisation of women working in the Malayalam film industry, has strongly condemned the statement of the actor.
They called Alencier Lopez’s comments derogatory, misogynistic and reprehensible. WCC asked the film fraternity to seriously fight against such a misogynist mind set.
At the Kerala State Film Awards 2022, which was held on September 14, Alencier Ley Lopez was awarded the Special Jury award for his role in the film Appan. After receiving the award, the actor made a sexist remark by saying that the female statuette was a temptation and the male statuette should be given instead. He further said that it is an insult for him to accept the female statuette in a state where a strong male Chief Minister is there. This statement was not received well by WCC. They uploaded a statement on Facebook condemning the same.
In their post, the women workers in the film industry said that the words of the Appan actor encourage the tendency of violence against women and promote misogyny.
“To have such statements from a state film award winner who should be a role model for the public as a whole is tantamount to the action of the arts and cultural activists who have come forward to uplift women and bring them into the mainstream,” WCC added.
They also stressed the importance of fighting against such atrocities because they claim that this is not the first time any ‘sexist comment’ has been passed by the actors and directors.
Meanwhile, the Appan actor has refused to apologise for his remarks at the Kerala Film Festival 2022. While talking to the media about the issue, the actor said that there is no need to teach him morality and he is not the only abuser in Malayalam cinema. “There are many who deserve that epithet, don’t provoke me too much” said Alencier while interacting with the media as quoted by the Times Of India. He further said that this is his personal opinion. He also said that his speech didn’t have any sexist connotation. Men are also facing issues in the Malayalam cinema industry, he added.
