Kapil Sharma breaks silence on alleged racist comment backlash on Atlee, says, "don’t follow anybody’s tweet like a sheep"

Atlee and Kapil Sharma

Filmmaker Atlee Kumar recently appeared on The Great Indian Kapil Show to promote his new production, Baby John. However, his appearance stirred controversy when a segment of social media users criticized Kapil Sharma’s question regarding Atlee’s appearance.

The backlash was intense, prompting Kapil to respond. He denied any intention of insulting Atlee and encouraged people to watch the interaction in full to form their own opinions about the exchange. Kapil further expressed his respect for Atlee and clarified that no harm was meant.

Taking to his X (formely twitter) account Kapil Sharma has finally reacted on this ongoing controversy, He posted a social media user’s post on X (previously Twitter), which read, “Kapil Sharma subtly insults Atlee’s looks? Atlee responds like a boss: Don’t judge by appearance, judge by the heart. #Atlee #KapilSharma."

The social media user also shared the video of Atlee’s interaction with Kapil Sharma on the show.

Responding strongly, Kapil Sharma's reply read, "Dear sir, can you pls explain me where n when I talked about looks in this video ? pls don’t spread hate on social media thank you. (guys watch n decide by yourself, don’t follow any body’s tweet like a sheep)."

Dear sir, can you pls explain me where n when I talked about looks in this video ? pls dont spread hate on social media thank you. (guys watch n decide by yourself, dont follow any bodys tweet like a sheep). https://t.co/PdsxTo8xjg
Kapil Sharma (@KapilSharmaK9) December 17, 2024

In the video from The Great Indian Kapil Show, Atlee engages in a conversation with Kapil Sharma, during which the comedian asks the filmmaker, "Atlee sir, actually you are so young. Aur aap itne bade producer, director ban gaye hain. Kabhi aapke saath aisa hua hai ki aap kisi star se milne gaye first time aur usko laga hi naa ho aap Atlee ho. Usne kaha ‘where is Atlee?’ (You have become such a huge producer, director. Has it ever happened that you went to meet a star for the first time, and they didn’t recognize you?)"

In response, Atlee mentioned "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 a script, but he didn’t see how I’m looking, and whether I’m capable of it or not. But he loved my narration. I think the world should see that. By appearance we should not judge, by heart you have to judge."

Director Atlee appeared on the finale episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, alongside Varun Dhawan, Wamika Gabbi, and Keerthy Suresh, to promote their upcoming film Baby John, set to release in December.