New Delhi:
Popular YouTuber and social media influencer Ranveer Allahbadia has been slammed heavily by the Internet for his remark on parents and sex on comedian Samay Raina’s show India’s Got Latent. The remark sparked a huge backlash prompting reactions from political leaders across the party lines. Amid the controversy, an old video of Aamir Khan re-surfaced on Reddit where he spoke about freedom of speech and verbal violence.
Aamir Khan’s reactions came after popular comedians and Karan Johar roasted Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor at a star-studded event in 2015. Complaints were filed and the video was eventually pulled off by YouTube back then.
Reacting to the incident, Aamir Khan, at the Youth for Governance 2015 event, said he believes in freedom of speech but he didn’t support “verbal violence”.
“When Karan (Johar) and Arjun (Kapoor) told me what they said and did as part of the ‘roast’, I felt it was very violent event. I completely believe in freedom of speech and no issues there. Violence is not always physical, it can be emotional, it can be verbal. Jab aap kisi ko insult karte ho to aap violence perpetuate kar rahe ho,” he said.
While a section of the Internet argued for freedom of speech, the other section didn’t approve of the language of “roasting.” Joining the bandwagon of detractors, Aamir Khan said, “Everybody has the right to air their opinions. In my opinion, it was not funny. I am not a kid that I will laugh listening to abuses. I am way past that age. I scolded both Karan and Arjun, who are my friends, and told them that I do not find it funny at all.”
“If you want to impress me, try making me laugh without insulting anyone. I will enjoy it then. I am not talking about AIB, but about Arjun, Karan and other actors at the event…I think as a creative person, it is my responsibility to search for the good in people,” the Lagaan actor added.
Throwback to an old video of Aamir Khan sharing his views on freedom of speech !
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Ranveer Allahbadia’s comment sparked reactions from Imtiaz Ali, Manoj Bajpayee. B Praak has already cancelled his scheduled appearance on Ranveer’s podcast show.
Ranveer Allahbadia and others, including comedian Samay Raina and the producers of the stand-up comedy show India’s Got Latent, have been summoned – on February 17 – by the National Commission for Women over derogatory comments.
The controversy erupted when Ranveer Allahbadia had asked a contestant, “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once and stop it forever.”
Assam police filed a case against the 31-year-old podcaster along with Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, Apoorva Makhija and Samay Raina.
Following the backlash, Allahbadia, who has 4.5 million followers on Instagram and 1.05 crore YouTube subscribers, issued an apology.
In a video message on X, formerly Twitter, he said, “I shouldn’t have said what I said on India’s Got Latent. I’m sorry… My comment wasn’t just inappropriate, it was not even funny. Comedy is not my forte, I am just here to say sorry.”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also criticised the YouTuber for his remark.
