Mumbai: Comedian and actress Jamie Lever, widely known for her comic timing and spot-on celebrity impressions, recently shared a harrowing personal experience from her early school days that left her traumatised for years.
In an interview with Hauterrfly, Jamie, daughter of comedian Johny Lever, recalled a deeply disturbing incident from her childhood, when a man behaved in an indecent manner right outside her school in Mumbai’s Vile Parle.
“My driver asked me to sit inside the car after school. I was sitting at the backseat with my friend and we were waiting for my brother. A man came and stood outside the car…he flashed and he started masturb*ting. I was so shocked that I didn’t understand what was happening. I was shaking because I thought he’ll open the car door. I slowly locked the doors and when he realised we were not looking at him, he walked off.”
Jamie said the incident left her so shaken that she couldn’t even talk about it with her parents or the friend who was with her. “We didn’t know what to make of it. It was frightening, and we were too young to fully understand what had happened,” she shared.
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Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only traumatic experience she faced. Jamie also revealed that the conductor on her school bus—someone expected to safeguard children—would sometimes touch them inappropriately. “It makes you question who you can trust,” she said.
She went on to describe yet another moment that unsettled her—this time at Andheri station. “I was on the stairs when a man suddenly flashed at me. I froze again, unsure of how to react. My friend just pulled me away and said to keep walking. These kinds of incidents stay buried inside you,” she said.
Jamie revealed that these repeated experiences of harassment impacted her ability to form close relationships, particularly with men. “I built a wall around myself. I didn’t open up to men for a long time—dating, talking, or even interacting felt unsafe,” she said, adding that it was only during her post-graduate years in London that she slowly began to heal.
Despite these challenges, Jamie has built a strong and successful career. She made her Bollywood debut in Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015) and has since appeared in several films including Housefull 4, Yaatris, Crakk, and Bhoot Police. In 2024, she stepped into South Indian cinema with her Telugu debut in Aa Okatti Adakku.
Apart from films, Jamie is also a social media star, admired for her hilarious reels and celebrity mimicry of stars like Kareena Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, and Farah Khan.
PNN
