The True Story Behind Netflix's Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
The Revolting True Story Behind Netflix's New Documentary Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
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Choudhury's abuse and harassment of Jafa-Bodden continued to escalate until she filed a lawsuit against him for "unfair dismissal and sexual harassment," per The Guardian. In 2016, a jury unanimously ruled that Jafa-Bodden had been the victim of "sexual harassment, nonpayment of wages, and wrongful dismissal." By that time the yogi had left the United States and refused to return, so the judge ruled she would be put in charge of his intellectual property and receive all of the profits from his franchise of studios would go to her. Meanwhile, the Bikram Yoga company filed for bankruptcy in 2017 citing the $16.7 million owed to women who filed civil suits against the yogi. A warrant for Choudhury's arrest was issued in May 2017 after he failed to pay Jafa-Bodden, but at the time his whereabouts were unknown.
Meanwhile, Choudhury has denied all of the allegations against him. In 2016, a TV journalist asked him about the allegations at one of his training sessions in Mumbai, and the yogi responded, "Why do I have to harass women? People spend $1m for one drop of my sperm. Are you that dumb to believe those trash?" Despite the civil suits filed against him, Bikram yoga remains hugely popular — as does its founder. Choudhury is still teaching training programs that attract students across the border in Mexico. Per The Guardian, he told the same journalist, "this yoga is worse than cocaine. You can get rid of cocaine, but once you're used to this yoga, you can't stop."