Instagram Suspends Chinmayi Sripada's Account After She Reports Abusive Messages

Singer Chinmayi Sripada’s Instagram account was suspended after she reported men that sent her obscene pictures. Rather than suspending the accounts of the men who sent her the unsolicited pictures, Sripada’s account was suspended.

Chinmayi Sripada took to Twitter to share the events that transpired. In her tweet, she informed her fans that her Instagram account was removed for reporting men who sent unsolicited images of their genitalia through direct messages (DMs). She added that she had been receiving obscene and vulgar images for a while, but after she reported the men, her account was barred instead.

Sripada used her backup Instagram account to inform people that her original account had been deleted. She said that Instagram was “keeping the abusers but removing the ones that speak up”.

Ever since Sripada spoke up and supported the #MeToo movement by calling out predators in the Tamil film industry, she has been facing backlash and has been shamed and harassed. She tweeted that after she announced the birth of her twins, “Many Tamil netizens have been basically wishing that my kids do as well as the molester I named during the #MeToo movement”. In further tweets, she described the negative messages she got after she revealed the birth of her children as the reason she kept her pregnancy a secret.

Chinmayi Sripada Account Suspended, Fans Give Their Support

Fans voiced their support for the playback singer after she posted that Instagram deleted her original account after she reported men for sending vulgar images to her. A user said that no matter how many accounts they would delete, her fans would always be there for her and support her.

Another user showed her support for Sripada and said, “They can delete your account but they cannot delete the strength in your voice to speak up. Keep speaking up. We got you.”

A Twitter user expressed shock that Sripada’s account was removed rather than the accounts of the men sending unsolicited images. The user said, “I'm amazed how Instagram has decided to remove your account instead of the culprits' accounts”.

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