The backlash surrounding a controversial joke about Deepika Padukone's mental health on India's Got Latent has done little to shake the confidence of the show’s creator, Samay Raina. In fact, the comic appears to have taken the criticism in stride, using it to stir up even more attention for his YouTube channel.
On Monday, Samay posted an Instagram Story in which he mocked the outrage, saying, “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.”
His post, which accompanied a Reddit screenshot about the controversy, was a cheeky response to the online storm that followed a joke made on the latest episode of his talent show.
India's Got Latent—an online talent competition that blends comedy with a panel of celebrities—was recently rocked by a joke made by contestant Bunty Banerjee.
During the show, Banerjee quipped, “Deepika Padukone also became a mother recently, right? Great, now she knows what depression really looks like.”
The joke, which was met with laughter and applause from Samay and the other judges, immediately sparked a wave of criticism, with many accusing the comedian and the panel of trivializing mental health.
Mental health advocates and social media users quickly took to platforms like Reddit and Twitter to express their displeasure.
One Redditor argued, "People are finding it unfunny because it trivializes a common mental health condition and that too in a dumb way, comparing apples to oranges. It is punching down, unintelligently."
Others criticized Samay and his fellow judges for laughing along, calling it “brain-dead” and inappropriate. "As much hilarious the panel is at times, sometimes the panel has the most brain-dead takes like come on comedy ke naam pe kya kar rahe ho (what are you doing in the name of comedy)?" one user wrote, disappointed by the lack of critical thought in the response to the joke.
However, rather than offer a public apology or attempt to downplay the controversy, Samay leaned into it, using his social media platform to sarcastically ask for more outrage.
His Instagram Story, paired with a link to the episode, seemed to suggest that the attention could benefit him.
He regularly engages in offbeat, sometimes edgy humour, and this controversy seems to have done little to shake his commitment to his comedic approach.
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