Chinmayi Sripaada slams Kapil Sharma for ‘crass and racist jibes’ on Atlee; says, 'Will they never stop...?'

Filmmaker Atlee recently graced the set of The Great Indian Kapil Show as a guest, promoting his upcoming film, Baby John. The director appeared alongside the film’s team, including Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi, for the grand finale episode. However, the visit took an unexpected turn when host Kapil Sharma made a joke that has since sparked controversy.

During the episode, Kapil Sharma subtly quipped, “When you get to meet a star for the first time, do they ask, where is Atlee?” The comment was interpreted by many as a veiled reference to Atlee’s appearance, which did not sit well with a section of social media users. Atlee responded graciously, stating, “In a way I understood your question. I’ll try to answer. I’m actually very thankful to AR Murugadoss sir because he produced my first film. He asked for a script, but he didn’t see how I was looking or whether I’m capable of it or not. But, he loved my narration. I think the world should see that. We should not judge by appearance. You have to judge by your heart.”

The incident quickly garnered attention online, with many criticising Kapil Sharma for what they perceived to be a derogatory comment. Among the critics was singer Chinmayi Sripaada, who did not mince words in her disapproval. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Chinmayi reposted a clip from the show and expressed her frustration. She wrote, “Will they never stop these crass and racist jibes at his skin colour in the name of ‘comedy’?”

Will they never stop these crass and racist jibes at his skin color in the name of comedy?Someone with the amount of influence and clout like Kapil Sharma saying something like this is disappointing and unfortunately, not surprising. https://t.co/63WjcoqHzAChinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) December 15, 2024

Chinmayi further added, “Someone with the amount of influence and clout like Kapil Sharma saying something like this is disappointing and unfortunately, not surprising.”

Many of Atlee’s fans also expressed their disappointment on social media. One user commented, “I watched this episode this afternoon. I was thinking the same. Maybe his intention was not that but then he should have framed the question in a much better way. But all in all he is a champion of body shaming so not surprising at all."

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Another user pointed out, “Kapil Sharma may be a nice person otherwise, but he makes racist/sexist/body shaming/homophobic jokes all the time on his show. His silly question to Atlee reflects the fair-skin colour obsession of North Indians.”

Neither Kapil Sharma nor Atlee have publicly responded to the controversy as of yet.