Actress Pori Moni will no longer attend the ‘Fashion Vanguard 2026’ event in Chattogram after organisers removed her from the guest list following protests from journalists.
They may invite actresses Apu Biswas or Shobnom Bubly in her place, although the organisers have yet to confirm a replacement.
The event will take place on 28 November at a community centre in the city’s Khulshi area. Media coordinator and partner Khaled Sumon confirmed the decision on Saturday, 7 November.
Sumon said the organisers had signed an agreement with Pori Moni before her recent altercation with journalists at the Dhaka court premises.
However, they decided to drop her after journalists raised objections and requested a change. The organisers have also informed the actress and released a revised poster.
Sumon said several artistes would attend the event and that Apu Biswas or Shobnom Bubly could replace Pori Moni.
On Friday, 6 November, Pori Moni shared the event poster on her verified Facebook account with the caption, ‘See you, dear Chattogram’.
The announcement triggered criticism among journalists working in the city, with many urging the organisers to reconsider their guest selection.
A Chattogram correspondent of a national daily also shared the poster, saying the organisers should look for another guest unless Pori Moni publicly apologised to the journalist involved in the recent incident.
Several journalists’ organisations in Chattogram subsequently announced plans to boycott and oppose the event.
The controversy follows an altercation between Pori Moni and a journalist at the Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court premises on 5 November.
Pori Moni and her bodyguards alleged that the journalist had touched her. The journalist, however, accused the actress of taking his phone while he was recording video and damaging his tripod. He said she later returned the phone.
