In a recent podcast interview hosted by Ahmed Ali Butt, singer Ali Noor opened up about the tumultuous period he faced last year after being accused of sexual harassment and professional misconduct. The allegations rocked the music industry and led to significant repercussions for Noor of the popular 90s rock band, Noori.
The singer began by reflecting on the timing of the allegations, noting that they surfaced during a deeply personal and emotionally challenging period for him, following the death of his grandmother. He expressed his belief that the accusations were aimed at making an already difficult time even harder for him. However, he once again vehemently denied any predatory behavior, asserting, “Of course, I didn’t have an ounce of a predatory thing in me, I don’t flirt the way people flirt.”
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Throughout the interview, Noor maintained his innocence, emphasizing that he did not know the accusers personally. He recounted the circumstances surrounding the allegations, including his attempts to intervene in a distressing situation involving one of the accusers, which according to him, ultimately led to him being implicated in the controversy. Noor described feeling blindsided by the accusations and the subsequent fallout, including a decline in work opportunities and damaged professional relationships.
“All the women around me call me eccentric and crazy but jitna mera comfort level hai with kuriyan (girls) without becoming their bhai (brother) or trying to get them to fall in love with me, I think other guys are even jealous of that because I’ve had a very comfortable relationship with women all my life,” he held. “Even my wife, Mandana, would understand that, that’s why I could just do what I do all the time, because there was always purity in it.”
About the women who came out with their alleged encounters with Noor, the singer said, “You can check who are these people. These women; nobody knows them from Adam, I don’t know them from Adam. The first one, she had several cuts on her hand, she was Kami’s [Paul] friend. I got to know she’s about to kill herself and that she also approached Rohail [Hyatt]. When it was my turn, I figured I’ll go into my saviour mode and respond.”
The singer recollected responding from his wife’s phone. “I responded from Mandana’s phone. Kami had told me that she is about to jump from the car and kill herself and I have to say something. And then I realized that there’s no point. I kept listening to people, somebody said I should write this, someone else said I should say this, I was in a different kind of pain then. And later I discovered that this is a big deal. People stopped giving me work and… other things happened. But sexual harassment kisi or chirya ka naam hai (it is something else altogether).”
Noor’s frustration was evident as he spoke about the impact the allegations had on his career and reputation. He shared instances where potential business deals were affected by the tarnishing of his name. Noor also addressed the personal toll of the ordeal, acknowledging the hurt caused by the public scrutiny and condemnation. He expressed disappointment at the way he was perceived and treated in the aftermath of the accusations, lamenting the loss of support from individuals he had considered friends and colleagues.
When Butt said, “I think you’ve cleared your name in that regard,” Noor asserted rather harshly, “Who gives a f*** about ‘clearing name’? Who gives a s***? I just f****** left the building. I’m gonna walk here, I’m gonna walk out of here.”
