A complaint has been filed against YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia, known for his popular BeerBiceps channel, against his obscene remarks during an episode of comedian Samay Raina's India's Got Latent show on the video-sharing platform.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday hinted at action against the YouTuber, saying that "everyone has freedom of speech, but our freedom ends when we encroach upon the freedom of others".
The complaint, lodged by activist Rahul Easwar with the Mumbai Commissioner and Maharashtra Women's Commission, also names Raina, the show's organisers and social media influencer Apoorva Makhija, popularly known as The Rebel Kid, who also participated in the episode.
During the episode, Allahbadia asked a contestant, "Would you rather watch your parents have sex for the rest of your life — or would you join in once and stop it forever?” The controversial question sparked immediate backlash on social media, with some even questioning the limit on content regulations, especially on online forums and OTT platforms.
In his complaint, Rahul Easwar called Allahbadia's remarks "highly offensive, grossly obscene, and detrimental to public decency and ethics".
"It was broadcast on a public platform without any age restrictions, thereby exposing impressionable viewers, including minors, to explicit and indecent content."
While requesting immediate action against the YouTuber, the activist also called for a probe to "determine the extent of reach and impact of this content" and demanded the YouTuber's remarks should be taken off from all digital platforms.
"Given the influence of social media creators on young audiences, such reckless and obscene behaviour must be curtailed by strict legal action to set a strong precedent," he added.
Meanwhile, Nilotpal Mrinal, BJP Vice President of the Uttar Bhartiya Morcha, has also sent a complaint letter to the Khar police station to take action against Allahbadia, Raina and participants of India's Got Latent.
Amid the ongoing backlash against Ranveer Allahbadia, reporters asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to comment on the YouTuber's controversial remarks.
In his reply, he said, "I have received information on this, but did not watch it personally. Things have been said and presented in a wrong way. Everyone has freedom of speech, but our freedom ends when we encroach upon the freedom of others. This encroachment, in my opinion, is wrong."
"There should be a dignified way of expressing ourselves. In our society, there are rules against obscenity. It is very wrong for someone to violate those rules, and action should be taken against the violators," he warned.
On Sunday night, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also lashed out at Allahbadia, saying that "we can't normalise perverse behaviour as cool".
"This isn’t creative. It’s pervert. And we can’t normalise perverse behaviour as cool. The fact that this sick comment met loud applause must worry us all," she tweeted.
Also commenting on the development, former National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma said this kind of joke is never accepted by society.
"Making jokes about a mother or a woman's body doesn't look good, and somewhere it shows how today's youth has stooped down to such a level morally. I think such jokes affect others who are engaged in similar creative things. I have forwarded that video to the NCW Chairperson to take action," Sharma, also a Rajya Sabha MP, added.
Allahbadia, who is yet to officially comment on the development, has 10.5 million subscribers on his BeerBiceps channel on YouTube, while 4.5 million follow him on Instagram.
