Julian Colston Accused of Physical and Sexual Assualt

Fashion photographer Julian Colston has been accused of physical assault and sexual harassment by model Apernah Dubey. On 12 April, Apernah spoke about the physical assault and the emotional trauma on her Instagram account. Later, in an interview with Mid-day, she recounted her story. “We met (in Mumbai) in February 2015, and by April, he had started forcing himself upon me. He would constantly try and get physical,” she said.

After an argument in 2016, she blocked him from her social media account. Later, Julian sent an email to “build the bridges”, and would even “bully her” into talking to him. A year later, he agreed to photograph her “to fulfill the promise he had made” when they first met. “Back then, he had promised to feature me in his upcoming shoots. I went to his place late in the afternoon. He kept chit-chatting and avoiding work. In the middle of the shoot, he came up and tried to kiss me. I, in no uncertain terms, told him to stay away. That’s when he got wild and slapped me. My head hit the wall and I fell on the floor. I realised that he may hit me further, so I screamed. That scared him,” she explained.

On May 10, she sent a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone X, MIDC, Andheri East) wanting to file an FIR against him. Colston, too, took to his social media to respond to the accusations. “It has come to my notice that a social media post and news article with entirely false and spiteful accusations, are making certain claims against me. My lawyers are following the official process and are responding to the situation legally,” he stated.