Ranveer Allahbadia controversy: Gaurav Taneja says ‘only go after weak’, influencer asks ‘apologised, what more…’

Ranveer Allahbadia controversy: Apoligising for his jokes again, YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, aka BeerBiceps, in a post on Instagram also alleged that people had invaded his mother’s clinic posing as patients. The comments section of that post were full of other influencers extending their support and comfort to Ranveer Allahbadia.

‘Flying Beast’ Gaurav Taneja: ‘Thought youth was standing up, but what is happening?’

YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, feels the backlash against Ranveer Allahbadia has balloned out of control. In a post on the social media platform Instagram, he asked: “When this BeerBiceps controversy first started, I thought the youth of this country was standing up for their culture and traditions, which is absolutely right. But what is happening now?” (sic)

“Police from so many states have gotten involved. I just saw that the editor of the show has been taken in. They have summoned past guests. Ranveer had to move the Supreme Court just to get his FIRs clubbed. Why aren’t they summoning Sundar Pichai? Because they can’t. They can only go after the weaker ones. Now everyone can clearly see what is happening. This is not the democracy we voted for,” he added.

Influencers extend support: ‘Man apologised, what more do we want?’

Anmol Sanchar wrote in meme format: “Man made an awful joke. Man made a mistake. Man realised his mistake. Man apologised. Man assures to learn from this and be careful. WHAT MORE DO WE WANT?” (sic)

He added, “Constant threats of violence, asking for him to be hanged to death, threatening his family. Isn’t it getting too extreme?” (sic)

Instagram influencer Deepanshu Raj cited Alexander Pope to say: “To err is human, to forgive is divine. For 10 years, you have inspired millions in this country to become better individuals through your podcasts and fitness, fashion, and self-help content-and I am surely one of them.” (sic)

He also added: “What you said was very, very wrong, but after all, you are human too! We’re glad you realized your mistake and aren’t justifying it. Come back stronger & better, champ Stay Strong! FULL SUPPORT.” (sic)

Further, Vishnu Kaushal said simply: “You don’t deserve this man. Stay strong, this shall pass.” (sic)

‘Don’t like dark humor, please shut up and don’t watch it,’ says Tehseen Poonawala

Speaking on MirrorNow, political analyst Tehseen Poonawala criticised the actions against Ranveer Allahbadia as excessive, according to a report by Hindustan Times. “Cracking a bad joke is just that, a bad joke, and the punishment to it is self-censorship, self-regulation, that isn’t violence. Ranveer cracked a bad joke, it may have offended someone’s sensibilities but it didn’t cause violence,” (sic) he said.

“There are a lot of ways to prevent your child from seeing this. This was a ticketed show for adults only, for a subscriber base. It was a show that was marketed like dark humor. If you don’t like dark humor, please shut up and get out, don’t watch it. I think it’s filth, I didn’t want to watch it but you can’t impose conditions on a ticketed show, which is subscriber based, which is adult only, which says it is a show for dark humor,” (sic) he added.

‘Nobody to tell Samay what jokes to keep’ says Raghu Ram

Also posting on Instagram, TV personality Raghu Ram of Roadies fame, said he does not regret being a part of India’s Got Latent, but wished some jokes had been chopped. He spoke of Samay Raina, but not Ranveer Allahbadia.

“I do not regret being part of IGL. I wish the show had not included some jokes that caused such hurt. Sensibilities of a paying audience in a show can differ from a larger youtube audience. I might have kept some jokes out of the episode, but I am nobody to tell Samay or the makers what jokes to keep and which, if any, words to beep. It is their call, and I’m sure they don’t take that responsibility lightly. Freedom of speech is meaningless without the freedom to offend. Offence is often taken even when none is intended,” (sic) Raghu Ram wrote.

He added, “But of course, I am sorry if I have actually caused hurt to anyone. Comedians push boundaries, call out society and speak truth to power while entertaining. But no comedian sets out to hurt sentiments. And they would be the first to apologise if they did. I do hope society maintains a proper perspective on the scale of this issue compared to others that need more outrage.” (sic)

(With inputs from Agencies)