 "Ranveer Allahbadia has reportedly lost social media followers after his controversial remarks on 'India's Got Latent'. Instagram/ranveerallahbadia")
YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, is feeling the sting of his crass remarks on comedian Samay Raina’s YouTube show, India’s Got Latent. Several complaints have been filed against him, Raina and other judges present in the episode featuring the 31-year-old podcaster.
While Allahbadia – who is not new to controversy – has apologised for his comments, calling them a “lapse in my judgement”, the storm has refused to die down. Social media users have been criticising the podcaster and the backlash is now costing him followers.
Let’s take a closer look.
Ranveer Allahbadia loses followers
Trouble is brewing for Ranveer Allahbadia, who has hosted several bigwigs on his podcast. Currently, his YouTube channel ‘BeerBiceps’ has 82.7 lakh subscribers and the channel after his name has 1 crore 5 lakh subscribers.
Allahbadia’s personal Instagram boasts 34 lakh followers, while the account named BeerBiceps has 44 lakh followers.
According to Qoruz, an influencer marketing intelligence platform, the digital content creator and podcast host has lost more than 8,000 followers on his two Instagram profiles in the past five days.
About 4,205 fans have reportedly unfollowed his BeerBiceps profile, while the Ranveer Allahbadia account has witnessed a drop of 4,153 in followers.
Reports claim he has lost two million (20 lakh) subscribers on his two YouTube channels but this does not seem true.
Allahbadia’s YouTube channel BeerBiceps has lost at least 40,000 subscribers so far, as per News18. The report also mentioned that the podcaster has lost 56,000 followers across all his social media platforms.
Netizens have been calling for a boycott of Allahbadia and unfollowing him online since a video of his inappropriate comments on Raina’s popular show went viral.
In a recent episode of India’s Got Latent , the podcaster can be heard asking 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?”
The clip of Allahbadia’s question has gone viral, leading to a huge outrage on social media.
The controversy escalated as politicians took note of the video, with even Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis commenting on the issue.
On Monday (February 10), Allahbadia apologised in a 52-second clip posted on X and his Instagram profile. “My comment wasn’t just inappropriate it wasn’t even funny. Comedy isn’t my forte I am just going to say sorry.”
“I personally had a lapse in my judgement. It wasn’t cool on my part. The podcast is watched by people of all age groups and don’t want to take that responsibility lightly. Family is the last thing I would disrespect,” he added.
Controversy may hurt Ranveer Allahbadia’s brand
There’s a saying: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Even if there is an outrage, it means engagement for some influencers. However, in a time of cancel culture where social media users could make or break someone’s image, brands have become cautious about who they collaborate with.
Marketing experts say Allahbadia, who has worked with brands like Spotify, Mountain Dew, Amazon Prime Video, Intel and Wow Skin Science, could suffer due to the row.
Speaking to Moneycontrol, Neha Arora, CEO (chief executive officer) and co-founder, Value4Brand, a digital marketing company, said, “Given the backlash and public outcry, especially from eminent journalists and authors like Neelesh Misra, brands might reconsider their partnerships with him. While his following is large, the nature of this controversy could prompt a reassessment of his suitability for family-friendly or socially responsible brand collaborations.”
Arora predicted that Allahbadia could lose some brand deals, as companies are “highly sensitive” about the image of the influencers they partner with.
“Recent controversial statements, which have spread like fire, can damage the brand’s reputation, especially when associated with someone who has a large, impressionable audience. Companies today are more focused on brand building and online reputation management and thus collaborate with the ones who maintain a positive and professional image and not with the ones who end up getting roped in controversies like these,” she added.
With Allahbadia landing in legal trouble due to the controversy, Yasin Hamidani, Director, Media Care Brand Solutions told Moneycontrol that brands could become reluctant to tie up with the YouTuber.
“While his strong personal brand and loyal audience may mitigate some damage, companies— especially those with strict brand safety policies — might pause or reconsider collaborations.”
According to Mohit Ghate, co-founder at Wit & Chai, a creative marketing agency, Allahbadia’s controversy is a classic example of the need for content creators to “balance authenticity with accountability”.
“The takeaway from this incident is that the mic is always on, the internet never forgets and cancel culture doesn’t issue warnings. Relevance isn’t just about being loud; it’s about being wise and in the long game of influence, it’s not just about being heard — it’s about being remembered for the right thing. Remember, today’s viral moment could be tomorrow’s cancelled contract,” he told Moneycontrol.
Allahbadia has already started feeling the heat. Singer B Praak, who was set to appear on his podcast, cancelled his appearance following the backlash over the YouTuber’s “jokes”. Slamming Allahbadia, he said, “Aur yeh Ranveer Allahbadia, aap Sanatan Dharma ko promote karte ho, spirituality ki baat karte ho. Aapke podcast pe itne bade-bade log aate hain, itne bade sant aate hain, aur fir bhi aapki soch itni ghatiya hai? (You promote Sanatan Dharma and host so many influential people, still, your thinking is so shoddy).”
Ranveer Allahbadia’s woes increase
Amid social media outrage, Ranveer Allahbadia is also facing legal trouble. The Mumbai Police reached his residence today (February 11) after complaints against the YouTuber.
Two Mumbai lawyers, Ashish Rai and Pankaj Mishra, had registered a complaint against Allahbadia, Raina and content creators Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh and Apoorva Mukhija (The Rebel Kid) over their alleged use of “abusive language” and “obscene” comments against parents, women, and their body parts.
The Mumbai Police launched a probe into the matter and also visited Khar’s Habitat building, where the episode of India’s Got Latent featuring Allahbadia was shot. However, the police have yet to register an FIR.
The Assam Police have filed an FIR against five people, including Allahbadia and Raina, over the inappropriate remarks. A complaint was lodged by one Alok Boruah from Guwahati, who claimed the comments caused “serious harm to public decency”, reported Indian Express.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to X to confirm that the FIR was filed.
Allahbadia’s controversy has also reached the Parliament. A Parliamentary panel on Information Technology is mulling whether to summon Allahbadia to answer questions before a panel over his remarks on India’s Got Latent. Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said she would raise the issue in the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology.
With inputs from agencies