Indian court acquits actress of ‘obscenity’ 15 years after Richard Gere kiss

BBC News Brasil

An Indian court has finally cleared Shilpa Shetty of the “obscenity” charges 15 years after the Bollywood star was kissed onstage by actor Richard Gere. Footage from 2007 showed the Hollywood star kissing Shetty’s cheek at an AIDS awareness event in Delhi.

The charges have only now been deemed “unfounded”, with the court saying she was the victim of an “unwanted gesture”. At the time, the kiss sparked protests from radical Hindu groups who saw it as an insult to Indian values. Kissing in public is considered taboo by some in India.

Gere hugged and kissed Shetty on a public stage at a charity event in Delhi nearly 15 years ago — an act he later apologized for.

The actor said he was trying to show that kissing was a safe act that could not lead to HIV transmission. An arrest warrant issued for Gere concerning the case was rejected by the Supreme Court of India shortly afterwards.

But it was only last week that charges against Shetty for the same incident were dismissed in Mumbai. The Bollywood star’s legal team argued that it was unfair that Shetty was considered a “perpetrator” for not protesting the kiss enough at the time.

Shilpa Shetty rose to prominence outside India, also in 2007, after appearing on the British reality show Celebrity Big Brother, where she was the victim of bullying and racist slurs. She was the winner of the show.