Award shows and controversy go hand in hand, especially in the case of the Lux Style Awards 2022.
In the past years, the main reason LSAs have been attracting public outrage is the nominations of alleged harassers. Be it the audience or the industry, an ample amount of people have called out the coveted awards show for glorifying abusers and not standing by the victims of abuse.
Ali Zafar’s Nomination For Teefa In Trouble in 2019
The LUX Style Awards decided to nominate singer-turned-actor Ali Zafar for his movie Teefa in Trouble. However, Ali Zafar was named as her harasser by Meesha Shafi. Zafar’s nomination caused a frenzy among the masses especially in the fraternity as various nominees boycotted the award show and withdrew their nominations. Eman Suleman, a model, was nominated for Best Emerging Talent in the past 3 years. Eman took to Instagram to announce that she did not want to share a platform with someone who is a harasser.
Others soon followed including Generation, makeup artist Saima Bargfrede Rubab Ali, folk-rock band The Sketches, designer Maheen Khan and makeup artist Fatima Nasir, who requested for their names to be removed from the nominations list.
Pakistani director, Jami, won the ‘Best Film’ LSA for his movie ‘Moor’ and placed his award on the street in protest.
While others stood with the victim, there were people in the industry who adopted the “innocent until proven guilty” rhetoric and came out in support of the award show. Actors like Ahmed Ali Butt said that everyone had the right to show their grievances however degrading an award is not the right way to go. Iman Aly also asked everyone to not judge anyone too quickly.
Seeing the controversy LSA put out a public statement saying:
Feroze Khan’s Nomination For Best Actor
When the nominations for the 21st LUX Style Awards were revealed along with all the award categories. Feroze Khan, who was criticized for allegedly abusing his ex-wife Aliza Sultan, was nominated for the Best TV Actor – Viewers’ Choice category for his drama Khuda Aur Mohabbat. It wasn’t long after one name in the nominations infuriated the netizens, including Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy.
Sharmeen Obaid who won an award for Lifetime Achievement at The Lux Style Awards took to her social media to announce that she is returning her award as a sign of protest.
Following the media lash out LSA once again put down a statement that said:
But what message is the LSA really sending out? Does it not give rise to the question if the industry protects its most vulnerable?
It is pertinent to note that prestigious award shows like The Academy Awards have a set of bylaws and code of conduct for guidance and it does have a robust set of conduct guidelines, set up in 2017 in the wake of the #MeToo scandals. They sent out a guiding letter in 2018 in order to explain how to file conduct complaints explaining, “In addition to achieving excellence in the field of motion picture arts and sciences, members must also behave ethically by upholding the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity. There is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power, or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of decency.” In light of these guidelines, Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, and Bill Cosby were all expelled from the Academy in 2017 and 2018 for alleged sexual misconduct. (Source: Vanity Fair)
Maheen Khan Vows To Return Her Award
The power of influencers using their voice has been underlined with great impact in the Lux Style Debate. the Awards are over, but the controversy continues. The list of celebrities calling out the awards platform grows bigger. The question is, will LSA be willing to do anything about it? And even if they do, what of all the other causes they dismissed, or ignored, or glossed over in the name of diversity and freedom of audience views?
And this is what Style icon, designer and influencer Maheen Khan had to say. The most recent voice and one who will be returning her LSA!
In a world where one in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual assault, where rape and domestic abuse remains unaddressed, it is imperative that those who have a voice must use it,” read the caption of a picture posted Sunday night.
“Physical abuse against women and girls is a human rights violation. Today it is someone’s daughter, tomorrow it might be yours. While so many of us have raised our voices against the deaths of Zainab, Noor and others, the disregard and insensitivity of a recent award show is a travesty,” she said.
“In all conscience I can no longer associate my self with an event that disregards their plight. I will be returning my Lux Style Awards in solidarity with those who continue to suffer the infringement of their basic human right to live free from violence.
“It is a sad day as I had such hopes for the Lux Style Award show to be not just a champion of style but a platform that nurtured justice for women and stood out as a proud beacon of hope for every child and woman who has been violated,” read the caption.
Osman Khalid Butt Tweets Against Domestic Violence
Actor Osman Khalid Butt paid a tribute to the late Nazia Hassan at the LUX Style Awards this weekend. However, netizens had many questions as to why he attended the event in the first place because he had taken a strong stance against domestic violence amidst the Feroze Khan & Syeda Aliza controversy and people weren’t happy with Feroze Khan being nominated in one of the award categories.
To address all these questions, Osman took to Twitter to share his side of the story. He explained that he was contacted to pay tribute to the late Nazia Hassan before the nominations were announced. However, he made it clear to the management that would not be able to attend, let alone, perform if Feroze Khan was present there. “Which has absolutely nothing to do with his acting prowess, and everything to do with the very serious allegations levied by his ex-wife), and I was assured that he would not. That commitment was honored,” he added.
Actress Simi Raheal also sent a cryptic message which hinted at other reasons why the LSA needs to take a long hard look at the way it is conducting its proceedings from beginning to end.
All controversy aside there is no doubt that LSA puts on a great award show and it is certainly something everyone looks forward to. From mesmerizing performances to celebrating the industry to the red carpet style, the award show has something to offer everyone. However, the question that arises is whether the award show will take this criticism in a positive light and set it in the right direction, or will they adopt the idea of “the show must go on” because it is impossible to make everyone happy.
Let us know what you think!
