New Delhi:
The Supreme Court will likely hear on Tuesday a plea by YouTube personality Ranveer Allahbadia, aka ‘BeerBiceps Guy’, to club FIRs that have been filed across various states, including Maharashtra and Assam, over controversial remarks he made on stand-up comedy show ‘India’s Got Latent’.
Mr Allahbadia – who faces police investigations, has been summoned by the National Commission for Women, and may also have to face a parliamentary panel – moved the Supreme Court last week, asking that FIRs against him be combined for ease of representation and sought anticipatory bail.
He also sought an urgent hearing, a request the bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna nixed.
Mr Allahbadia, who runs a popular podcast on YouTube and is widely followed on social media, was supposed to appear before the NCW this morning, but, as with the summons from Mumbai Police, he skipped the call. He later claimed death threats stopped him from travelling to the NCW meet.
He has now been summoned again on March 6.
The social media personality on Saturday confessed to feeling “scared” by the threats to his life but insisted he would not back down. “I am watching death threats pour in from people saying they want to kill me… hurt my family,” he said, also claiming an ‘invasion’ of his mother’s medical clinic.
“I am feeling scared, and I don’t know what to do… But I am not running away. I have full faith in the police and the judicial system of India,” he said.
The controversy broke after Mr Allahbadia’s comment about parents and sex during an episode of ‘India’s Got Latent’. The remarks sparked fury online, against him and the show’s producers, hosts, and participants, many of whom also face police cases and have been summoned for questioning.
At least two others – show host Samay Raima and participant Apoorva Makhija – also got threats.
Police from Mumbai and Guwahati went looking for Mr Allahbadia at his home in the former city last week, only to find the door locked and the social media personality – whose requests to record his statement via a video conference have been turned down – missing.
So far, the Mumbai cops, acting on a complaint from a BJP functionary, have recorded the statements of seven individuals; these include Ms Makhija and Ashish Chanchalani, another social media influencer. Separate investigations are being conducted by Guwahati Police and Maharashtra’s Cyber Department.
After the row broke, Allahbadia offered an apology and blamed a lapse in judgement.
“My comment wasn’t just inappropriate… it was not even funny. Comedy is not my forte, I am just here to say sorry,” he said in a video message. The podcaster said this was not how he wished to use his platform. “I am not going to give any context or justification or reasoning behind whatever happened. I am just here for an apology. I personally had a lapse in judgement. It wasn’t cool on my part,” he said.
Apologising again for his remarks, Mr Allahbadia on Saturday said, “My remark about parents was insensitive and disrespectful and I am genuinely sorry”.
