I'm against abuse of women: Actor Vijay

Tamil superstar Vijay has said he is against the culture of abusing women for expressing their views on social media and other online platforms.

"I respect women a lot. Everybody has the right to criticize anyone's film. I believe no women should be spoken of in a demeaning way no matter what happens. We all have to praise womanhood," Vijay said in a statement.

He added: "Nobody should pass hurtful comments against women on social media."

His statement comes days after his fans abused and sexually harassed a woman journalist, Dhanya Rajendran, on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Dhanya Rajendran lodged a complaint with Cyber Crime Branch of police in Chennai against four anonymous Twitter handles.

Vijay's fans targeted the journalist after she tweeted that she walked out of a screening of Vijay's film "Sura" a few years ago and compared the bad experience with Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Jab Harry Met Sejal".

The fans passed sexual remarks against Dhanya Rajendran and dragged her family as well as colleagues for insulting their star.