Ranveer Allahbadia controversy at Samay Raina's India's Got Latent: How YouTuber's distasteful joke landed in legal trouble?

Ranveer Allahbadia’s controversial and distasteful joke at Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent not only sparked outrage and controversy on social media but also garnered severe backlash from politicians and public figures.

This scenario took a legal turn when FIRs and complaints were filed against Ranveer and others involved in the show.

How did the controversy start?

Ranveer, who accompanied Samay Raina, Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh and Apoorva Mukhija in the latest episode of India’s Got Latent, 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?”

This comment soon went viral and sparked outrage on social media followed by an FIR against Allahabadia, influencer ‘Rebel Kid’ Apoorva Mukhija, comedian Samay Raina, and the organisers of the show India’s Got Latent for the usage of abusive language.

I shouldn’t have said what I said on India’s got latent. I’m sorry. pic.twitter.com/BaLEx5J0kd

— Ranveer Allahbadia (@BeerBicepsGuy) February 10, 2025

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Criticism from politicians and public figures

Apart from fans, this scenario was criticised by politicians, celebs and public figures.

“Everyone has freedom of speech, but this freedom ends when we encroach upon others’ freedom. If anyone crosses these limits, action will be taken,” said Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Journalist and lyricist Neelesh Misra wrote on X, “Meet the perverted creators who are shaping our country’s creative economy. I am sure each one has a following of millions.”

“This content is not designated as adult content — it can be seen with ease even by a child if the algorithm takes him or her there. The creators or the platform have zero sense of responsibility,” he added.

“You, the audience, normalised and celebrated this and people like these. Decency is not incentivised in India — by platforms or audiences — and creators are stooping lower and lower for audience reach and revenue.”

“We call upon all actors, filmmakers, directors, and technicians to immediately cease any collaboration with individuals involved in this show, including host Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia,” AICWA said in a statement.

Ranveer Allahbadia issues an apology via video statement

After the backlash, the YouTuber shared a video apologising for his joke and said, “My comment wasn’t inappropriate; comedy is not my forte. I am just here to say sorry. Many asked, Is this how I use the platform? to which he stated, ‘Obviously, this is not how I wish to use it. I am not going to give any context or justification or reasoning behind whatever happened; I am just here for the apology,” he wrote. “I personally had a lapse, and judgment wasn’t cool on my path. The podcast is watched by people of all ages. I don’t want to be the person that takes that responsibility lightly, and family is the last thing that I would disrespect.”

“Need to use this platform better; that’s been my learning from this whole experience. I promised to just get better; I have asked the makers to remove the insensitive sections from the video, and all I can say in the end is, Sorry, I hope you can forgive me as a human being,” he added.

Controversial video removed from YouTuber

The video was removed from the YouTube platform on Tuesday (Feb 11) after The Information and Broadcasting Ministry and National Human Rights Commission issued directives to the video platform to remove the controversial episode.

Parliament to summon Ranveer?

Followed by complaints from several MPs, a discussion of the Parliamentary panel on Information Technology is happening on whether to summon Allahbadia.

“Any abusive language in the name of comedy content crosses limits is not acceptable . You get a platform, that doesn’t mean that you will utter anything. He is someone with millions of subscribers, every political has sat in his podcast. PM has given him an award… As a member of standing committee of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, I will raise this issue…,” Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote on X.