India’s Got Latent: Ranveer Allahbadia’s ‘dirty’ comments spark massive row in India

” Dirty”. ” Twisted brain”. ” Disgusting”.

The Supreme Court of India used these words on Tuesday to grant a well-known YouTuber who has been a target of a national outcry in the past year.

The conflict started when Ranveer Allahbadia, whose YouTube channel BeerBiceps has eight million subscribers, posed the question to the contestant:” Would you rather see your relatives have sex every time for the rest of your life or visit in and stop it always”?

The remarks, made on the show India’s Got Hidden on 9 February, sparked huge anger, authorities situations and even suicide risks. YouTube immediately removed the event, but that did not stop the fervor against Allahbadia and the show.

In truth, the amount of attention the incident has received is mind-boggling: it has made regional headlines, been covered on primetime TV and some of India’s most popular news sites have also run live pages.

Not surprising, considering the star status of Allahbadia. He has interviewed federal ministers, top Bollywood celebrities, cricketers and Hollywood actors. And last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed him a” National Creators Awards” trophy.

Since the controversy erupted, Allahbadia and the show’s creator, Samay Raina, have apologised for the comments and Raina has taken down all previous episodes of the show. In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court forbade Allahbadia from sharing information on social media.

However, the incident is still in the news.

” It feels like the state is trying to make an example out of Allahbadia”, says Apar Gupta, founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation. Saket Gokhale, an opposition lawmaker, also condemned the targeting of Allahbadia and the show.

“Crass content can be criticised if it offends you. However, you cannot have the state persecute and lock up people for offending your ‘moral sentiments’,” he wrote in a post on X.

Popular comedian Vir Das also weighed in on the controversy and criticised news channels for their one-dimensional coverage of the incident and for taking a disparaging view of all digital content.

The controversy surrounding Allahbadia’s remarks and the subsequent backlash has sparked discussions about the need for viral content and the consequences for its creators when its content violates rules upheld by the very people who watch it.

Raina’s show, which debuted in June, has been popular from the start, with each episode being viewed tens of millions of times on YouTube. Additionally, it hasn’t avoided starting up debates either.

The show has platformed some bizarre performances and judges and contestants have been seen making crass and crude comments more than a few times. Critics have accused the show of spewing misogynistic views and for body-shaming guests.

A popular fashion influencer once walked out of the show after a male contestant compared her to a former adult film actress while another asked her about her “body count” (a slang term for the number of sexual partners a person has had).

But it appears that the show’s appeal was also there.

Fans of the program have praised it for promoting “raw talent and unfiltered jokes.” Some people have expressed their liking for the roasts, a form of insult comedy, that was popular on the show.

Experts have underscored how, with the entertainment landscape exploding, digital content creators often feel compelled to push the envelope – even if it means resorting to the risqué and lewd – just to gain views and virality.

It’s safe to say that the show pushed the limits and the buttons of many. But then, it backfired.

” A lot of comedy, especially of a certain masculine kind, is cruel and punches down on people. It has a violent undercurrent. So it’s not surprising if you contribute to that culture when it eventually comes back to bite you,” says filmmaker Paromita Vohra.

She goes on to say that a successful comedy requires a carefully tuned understanding of the audience for which it is being performed and what restrictions it can impose.

Interestingly, Allahbadia’s question, which sparked the furore, was almost identical to the question asked by the host of an Australian comedy show called OG Crew’s Truth or Drink. While the question didn’t spark outrage in Australia, it has in India.

” The internet has made it possible for content to reach spaces and audiences that it wasn’t naturally engaging with.” Unthinkingly appropriating content can have unexpected consequences”, she says.

She adds that it’s necessary to avoid making these issues morally questionable.

There is always the possibility of morality being used to punish those who violate what is accepted by society, she says, and it’s possible that morality is being increasingly ingrained into the legal framework of the nation, which can cause divisions.

Some critics claim that the government is using the controversy as a pretext to distract attention from pressing issues like pollution and unemployment. Some apprehensions are that the federal government will use it as justification for expanding the scope of content creation regulation.

After the controversy, a report by NDTV news channel stated that a parliamentary panel was considering making laws around digital content stricter. The Supreme Court too has pushed for more regulations around online content.

According to Mr. Gupta, the state already has” a tremendous amount of power” to prosecute those accused of breaking various data and content laws, and that while the state exercises its powers without restraint, content creators don’t have as many legal safeguards to protect them.

” Instead of tighter laws, we need more reform, existing legal standards need to be more tolerant of free expression”, he says.

” Young people should know where to go for their education, such as in education and digital learning, and use the internet only for entertainment,” he said.