‘I have faith and confidence that eventually truth will prevail,’ says Arunabh Kumar. By Team Viva
The Viral Fever (TVF) co-founder and CEO, Arunabh Kumar, resigned from all posts on Friday afternoon. In March, an anonymous writer under the pseudonym of The Indian Fowler had accused Kumar of sexual harassment through a blog post on Medium.com. The only hint of her identity was that she belonged to Muzaffarpur, although Kumar has denied hiring anyone from that area for the last three years. This incident was followed by more of such allegations from ex-employees that were publicised on news websites.
Arunabh made this announcement through his Twitter handle where he posted a long message revealing what he went through over the last few months. “The last few months have been the most challenging of my life,” he began the letter, “and I would like to thank my friends and family for their unwavering support.”
He said that he has full confidence “that the truth will prevail.”
As far as TVF goes, he said the organisation “will always be larger than just one individual and I believe we have only just started on our path-breaking journey to be a young global organisation. In the wake of the recent personal attacks, what really breaks me is the blemish on the brand’s true promise. I have, therefore, taken the decision to step down as the CEO of TVF. I will be available as a mentor for the content team as they continue to deliver the stories you love us for,” he wrote.
Kumar will be replaced by Dhawal Gusain as the company’s new CEO. Gusain has worked with TVF since 2015 as the Chief Operating Officer and has experience working in management and leadership roles for years. Some of TVF’s most popular web series include Permanent Roommates and TVF Pitchers.
“I transition from this role knowing that TVF is in safe hands, handing over the reins to Dhawan Gusain, who will take on the mantle as the CEO of TVF. Dhawal has sharp business acumen and, together with our leadership team, will keep working tirelessly to scale TVF to greater heights and bring a renewed ambition and zeal to make TVF the best place to work at, for both women and men,” Kumar added in a long post.