Rapper Honey Singh denies writing offensive lyrics amid public backlash

Rapper Honey Singh, who was forced to cancel his scheduled New Year's eve show following protests in the backdrop of gangrape incident, on Tuesday sought to wash his hands off the controversy triggered by offensive lyrics in some of his songs.

Singh, 28, who has sung for several Bollywood movies, said he had not authored the lyrics that are being attributed to him.

The lyrics have been termed offensive towards women by activists, who have started an online campaign against Singh. An FIR has also been lodged against the rapper in Lucknow.

When contacted Singh's manager Anup Kumar claimed that the Gurgaon show was cancelled not because of the protests but in solidarity with the Delhi gangrape victim.

"We did not cancel the show because of this petition and FIR. We cancelled it in the wake of the Delhi gangrape issue. This is not the first concert we are cancelling in Delhi after that horrific incident. We had also cancelled our much publicised December 25 event," Kumar said.

Bristol Hotel, however, disputed Singh's version, saying it was the management and not Singh, who decided to cancel the performance.

Singh has also issued a public notice claiming that he is not the author of those lyrics.

"Honey Singh wishes to clarify through this notice that he has no connection whatsoever with the said songs. My client has already written to various digital platforms to immediately take down the video/songs and is also considering appropriate legal action for defamation, loss of reputation and violation of privacy," a notice by lawyer Pragyan Pradip Sharma, on behalf of Singh, read.

The FIR against Singh was lodged by Gomti Nagar police on the complaint of IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, police sources said in Lucknow. The FIR was registered under sections 292, 293 and 294 of the IPC that are related to obscenity offences.

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