Brazilian woman Larissa Nery, who has found herself at the center of Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" allegations, has said that she is "scared" at what has unfolded over the last couple of days and expressed disappointment that her picture is being linked to a political controversy in India.
In an interview to NDTV, Nery said that she did not initially understand what was happening after her image went viral on X.
In a media briefing on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that the Brazilian model's picture appeared as many as 22 times at 10 booths in the Rai Assembly constituency of Haryana, with names such as "Seema, Sweety and Saraswati" on the electoral list.
Shortly thereafter, the internet was abuzz about her identity, prompting her to post a clarification on social media that it was an old photo and she had never even been to India.
"I thought it was a bad joke. I thought it was AI. Initially, I thought it was funny when I saw the video with my picture in the background. But when I understood what was happening, I got scared," she told NDTV.
She added that cannot understand the memes that are flooding the internet since then as she does not understand the language.
The Brazilian woman again clarified that the picture, which has gone viral, was taken nearly eight years back when she was about 20.
She also added that she was "never a model" and works as a hairdresser. "I'm just a normal person who ended up in the middle of this madness," she said.
Lery added that she has seen her photo being used in the past by some photo editing apps and some brands also used it to promote their work. "It was never for anything illegal or a political agenda, like what was done this time," Larissa told the TV channel.
She added that the political fallout of the press conference is huge in India but has not quite reached Brazil yet. "If it does, then I will have to take some action. I've been in touch with my lawyer, trying to get advice," she said, suggesting that the "improper use" of someone's picture is "a crime".
"My lawyer and I are waiting for things to calm down in India so we can understand where the idea came from and who used the picture. Then we can take necessary steps," she told NDTV.
Earlier, the Brazilian woman had clarified in a video that the photo shown at the press conference is an old photo of hers.
"Guys, they are using an old photo of mine. It is an old photo, okay? I was young in the photo, I was like 18 or 20 years old.... I do not know if it is an election or something about voting that you have to vote for. And in India. Ah! they are portraying me as Indian to scam people, guys. What madness!" she was quoted as saying, according to a rough translation from Portuguese.
Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the Haryana polls last year were "stolen". He cited voter list data to claim that 25 lakh entries were fake and the Election Commission (EC) colluded with the BJP to ensure that the party won the polls.
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