Viral video: Did Ranveer Allahbadia really cry about loss of work?

The rapid descent of Ranveer Allahbadia’s reputation began with an ‘inappropriate’ remark on YouTuber and comedian Samay Raina’s comedy show India’s Got Latent. The show and its hosts have come under fire several times for insensitive jokes made at the cost of the marginalised, including disabled people, LGBTQIA+ people and misogynistic, sexist jokes as well.

Public outcry at affront to Indian values

Ranveer Allahbadia, alias BeerBiceps, asked contestants of the aforementioned comedy show questions such as asking them about the size of his penis and offering 2 Crore if the contestant would do a sexual act with him.

He ramped up the ‘jokes’ by asking a contestant a question on the lines of, “Would you rather watch your parents have sex for the rest of your life, or join in once and stop it forever?”

Also Read: YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia apologises for 'vulgar' question on 'India's Got Latent'

This question of his raised ire and indignation from the public, leading to him being lambasted online by several public figures. Some of these public figures included members of the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra.

Them and multiple others have expressed disappointment online and called for strict regulations to be placed on ‘inappropriate language that crosses the bounds of comedy’, seeking to address this issue in the Parliament.

Also read: Allahbadia row: Mumbai Police record statements of manager, Apoorva

The backstory of the viral video

Users online are circulating the video of Ranveer Allahbadia crying and saying that he feels bad that because of him all the work has stopped. He expressed his guilt over exposing his team because of his carelessness.

Upon closer inspection, the video is revealed to be three years old. Amid the second wave of COVID, restrictions were at at an all-time high with enforced lockdowns.

The 'guilt' he expressed was over exposing his team to the COVID virus and losing out on work. It was not about the current situation regarding his ‘inappropriate’ remark on parents.

The current situation

Allahbadia has since apologised for his remarks on India’s Got Latent, taking to all of his social media accounts with a video saying that what he said was not funny and that the last thing he’d want to do is insult parents with the caption reading, “I shouldn’t have said what I said on India’s got latent. I’m sorry.”

Some political leaders have put out notices online, such as Assam’s CM Himanta Biswa Sarma who tweeted on Monday 10 February that Guwahati Police has filed an FIR against certain YouTubers and social influencers for “...promoting obscenity and engaging in sexually explicit and vulgar discussion in a show titled ' India's Got Latent'.”

Also read: Gujarat: Tickets for Samay Raina's shows not available for sale; VHP says events cancelled

Meanwhile, Samay Raina was summoned by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell for the second time this week and said he would be back from the US on March 17th, giving him ample time to respond to the allegations raised against him, according to a NDTV report. His tours in Gujarat have been cancelled and he took down all of the videos of his show ‘India’s Got Latent’ from YouTube.