A week after hairstylist Jawed Habib tendered an apology for spitting on a woman’s hair during a seminar, his company’s CEO has come out in his defence saying that the act was only meant to create some laughter during the seminar. Venkata Raveendra Ravi, CEO of the Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty Ltd, reportedly stated to Republic TV that Habib often does such things to keep the trainees entertained.
“Jawed Habib is one of the famous hairstylists in the country. Many people from the industry come here for months of courses or day-long workshops. These seminars are attended by at least 100-800 people and last for 4-8 hours. People tend to get bored due to the long duration, so in order to maintain the concentration of the people, he creates humour,” Ravi was quoted.
The Jawed Habib spit debacle gained momentum when a hairstylist named Pooja Gupta lodged an official complaint against Habib for humiliating her in public. Pooja had attended Jawed Habib’s seminar in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh and was invited by him on to the stage dias for a haircut demonstration. While styling her hair, Habid spat on the woman’s hair, saying that when water is scarce, he uses his own saliva, which has “jaan”.
Defending the act of spitting then, Jawed Habib had issued a strangely worded apology, for hurting the sentiments of the people. “What do I say now? I want to say this straight from my heart – If you are hurt by my actions, then, forgive me. Saying ‘sorry’ from the bottom of my heart”, he had said in his Instagram video.
Habib further stated that he had spat on the lady’s hair to create some humour and engage the audience. The outrageous act of spitting on a woman’s hair was criticised strongly on social media.
According to the Republic TV report, Venkata Ravi, CEO of Habib’s company is also of opinion that the spitting act was solely meant to make people laugh. “He did not do anything intentionally. He personally apologised to everyone as it was a mistake from his side.”
Referring to the protests and demonstrations outside the Jawed Habib salons following the incident, the CEO stated that though everyone has a right to protest in a democratic country, the negative publicity and public outrage is causing a loss to their business and franchise partners. He said that over 20,000 people are employed under the Jawed Habib brand.