Gayathri Moorthi, who has been a model and local drama actress for the last 15 years, said it was unbecoming of them to turn her video clip made for the Ugadi (Telegu new year) festival a few months ago into a political campaign.

“I don’t belong to any political party and don’t want to be a member of one. I am a professional model and actress and no one should doctor my TikTok video clips for nefarious activities such as this.

“I also don’t find the clip to be sensual as claimed,” she told FMT.

Gayathri said the perpetrators have tarnished her reputation and have unnecessarily dragged her into politics.

She said her professional credentials include winning the best supporting actress category in the 2019 Astro Telemovie Awards, and she was also the first Malaysian model to appear in an advertisement in India.

Yesterday, MIC disassociated itself from the viral clip showing Gayathri in a saree dancing to a song, with the MIC logo at the top and another two asking people to vote for Barisan Nasional.

MIC president SA Vigneswaran said Gayathri, deemed sexy by some social media users, was not an MIC member.

In the original 60-second video clip, Gayathri, using the handle @gayathrimoorthioficial4, is clad in a saree dancing to a popular song with a matching beat.