Singer and dubbing artiste Chinmayi Sripada revealed on Wednesday that she was threatened with a morphed nude image of herself, adding that such attacks are becoming increasingly common with the rise of deepfakes and AI-driven harassment. Chinmayi escalated the incident to Hyderabad City Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar, sharing the image and posting a video discussing the surge in online abuse she has faced over the past few weeks.
Chinmayi Says Children Were Given Death Threats
According to Chinmayi, the harassment intensified after her husband, filmmaker-actor Rahul Ravindran, made a comment about the mangalasutra a few weeks earlier. She said the trolling quickly turned vicious, targeting not just her but her family.
“I got a morphed image from a page today and tagged the cops — whether legal action will happen or not is not the issue,” she wrote on social media. In her video message, she said, “I have been abused, my children have been given death threats. I have filed a police complaint against a few on Twitter Spaces who said that the kind of women they don’t like shouldn’t ever have children, and if they do, their children must die. There were men applauding and laughing at this.”
Harassment Since She Named Her Abuser
Chinmayi also noted that she has been targeted repeatedly since she named a lyricist during the MeToo movement. “A lot of people have abused me; they have been paid for by political groups,” she said. “Today, there was a particular tweet that shared a morphed photo of me in the nude. I am sharing this so women know these things happen. Men do this to push us out of public spaces.”
Warning about the future misuse of digital tools, she added that deepfakes and AI-generated nudes will likely become more prevalent, especially as a form of retaliation or intimidation. “I am not the kind of woman who is shamed by this,” she asserted, urging women, girls, and parents not to hesitate to take legal action if they face similar threats.
Chinmayi’s Role in the MeToo Movement
Chinmayi was one of the most outspoken voices during India’s MeToo movement. In 2018, she accused veteran lyricist Vairamuthu of sexual harassment and amplified allegations against musicians OS Thyagarajan, Raghu Dixit, and Karthik. Following her statements, her membership in the Tamil Film Dubbing Union was terminated by its president, Radha Ravi, citing non-payment of fees — a matter that is currently being contested in court.