Comedian Samay Raina reacted to the backlash his YouTube show faced after a contestant had made a joke about Deepika Padukone’s struggle with depression. On November 19, Raina reacted to the criticism by sharing a screenshot of a Reddit post related to the incident on his Instagram stories.
In a tongue-and-cheek comment, he called on outraged people to take their remarks to his YouTube channel, where attention would serve to raise advertising income. “To everyone who is outraging on Twitter, one request: Could you please outrage in my YouTube comment section so I get some ad revenue from the traction, at least,” he wrote.
The joke, told by contestant Bunty Banerjee, was heavily condemned for being tasteless and disrespectful, not only to Padukone but also to those facing mental health issues. On the show, Banerjee mentioned Deepika and Ranveer Singh’s newborn daughter: “Deepika Padukone also became a mother recently, right? Great, now she knows what depression really looks like.” She continued, “I am not trying to insult breakup-wala depression,” adding, “I am.”
The other judges, Tanmay Bhat, Raghu Ram, neurologist Dr. Sid Warrier, and Balraj Singh Ghai could be seen laughing, but for a lot of people on social media, this only trivialized the clinical depression-a condition taken rather seriously, as it is also stigmatized worldwide. Many were disappointed that a woman was belittling the struggles of another woman.
“India’s Got Latent” has been known to host contestants with edgy comical styles and uncanny ideas, which have gathered a core following online. The incident, though, has sparked the debate on sensitivity and respect for comedy, especially on mental health issues.
