For the past few weeks, India has been watching the ‘India’s Got Latent’ controversy. The anchor of the show Samay Raina has finally put out an apology for this.
One month ago, the whole of India was shouting against the reality show ‘India’s Got Latent’. Inspired by a different reality show ‘Kill Tony’, this version was anchored by none other than one of the most iconic comedians Samay Raina. The show is quite unique and became viral for the jokes and banter that could be seen in the judge’s panel. The judges were big names in the entertainment industry. Last month the judge’s panel had Ranveer Allahabadia, Samay, Apoorva Mukhija, Jaspreet Singh, and Ashish Chanchlani. During a performance, BeerBicep, also known as Ranveer Allahabadia gave the contestant a ‘would you rather’ question. However, the topic of the question was perceived as derogative and vulgar in India according to the audience. Even though the comment had nothing to do with comedy and was not even original. Later it was found that the comment was copied from another show called OG Crew’s Truth or Drink. In that show, the host was seen to be asking the same question. Due to India’s culture and heritage, a comment involving ‘sex’ and parents in the same sentence is an exploitation of freedom of speech.
Just when the last episode of ‘India’s Got Latent’ went live, the whole country jumped on it and huge names of politics and law enforcement decided to take a stand against the sins people are doing in the name of ‘dank humor’. The judges along with two producers of the show Tushar Poojari and Saurabh Bothra were summoned for questioning by the police. Several FIRs were filed against the show and the people involved, they were also ordered to stop posting any content online. The owner of the YouTube channel, BeerBicep, Ranveer Allahabadia received hate comments, and death threats on different social media platforms. Many well-known political leaders resigned from their seats due to the explicit and vulgar comments displayed in the show.
Samay Raina was scheduled to start his Unfiltered India tour but due to this controversy regarding the show, he has decided to reschedule. Right now he has returned from his Canada tour and finally addressed the issues revolving around the reality show. The originator of the controversy, Allahabadia had already posted an apology video regarding his behavior and his comment on the show. Now Samay Raina, the host has given his statement to the police. Right after the whole controversy blew in size, Samay went for his Canada tour, hoping to leave the hostile situation but as he returned to India, according to his statement the Canada tour did not go as well as planned.
In his statement, he said, ‘I feel deep regret for what I said. It happened in the flow of the show, and I had no intention of saying it. I realize that what I said was wrong.’ Not only this, but Samay also confessed that this controversy had taken a toll on his mental and physical health due to which his Canada tour did not go well enough. Now that the official statement is out there, the only question that is on the minds of fans is when and if Samay Raina will be able to make a comeback on YouTube.
