Social media influencer Ranveer Allahbadia has apologized for his controversial remark, which led to many calling for a ban on his podcast and politicians, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state opposition leaders, criticizing him for exploiting freedom of speech. The apology from Allahbadia came after he landed in trouble for asking a question to a contestant on parents and sex on comedian Samay Raina’s reality show, which did not go down well and was panned by many, leading to police complaints.
I shouldn’t have said what I said on India’s got latent. I’m sorry. pic.twitter.com/BaLEx5J0kd
— Ranveer Allahbadia (@BeerBicepsGuy) February 10, 2025
The controversial remarks, which brought the influencer under fire, were made on Raina’s show “India’s Got Latent”. The show garnered popularity among today’s youth for its edgy, bordering on offensive, content. Allahbadia has 600,000 followers on X, 4.5 million on Instagram, and 10.5 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. He took to the social media platform X and issued an apology video admitting that his comment was not only inappropriate but also not funny.
Further clarifying his remarks, the YouTuber said that comedy is not his forte and he had a lapse in judgment. Promising to learn from this experience and get better, Allahbadia said that he has asked the makers of the show to remove the insensitive sections from the video.
“My comment was not just inappropriate; it was not even funny. Comedy is not my forte. I am here just to say sorry. Many of you have asked if this is how I want to use my platform. Obviously, this is not the way I want to use it. I am not going to give any context, justification, or reasoning behind whatever happened; I am just here for an apology. I had a lapse in judgment, wasn’t cool on my part,” Allahbadia said.
“The podcast is watched by people of all ages. I don’t want to be the kind of person who takes that responsibility lightly, and the family is the last thing that I would disrespect. Need to use this platform better; that’s been my learning from this experience. I promise to just get better. I have asked the makers to remove the insensitive sections from the video, and all I can say in the end is I am sorry; I hope you can forgive me as a human being,” he said.
Maharashtra CM Fadnavis said though he hasn’t seen the clip in question, he cautioned people about the limits of freedom of speech. “Everyone has the freedom of speech, but our freedom ends when we encroach upon the freedom of others… In our society, we have made some rules; it is absolutely wrong if someone violates them. Action should be taken against them,” Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai on Monday.
Allahbadia was one of the online content creators who last year received a National Creators Award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in New Delhi. In the past, the podcaster partnered with the Digital India Corporation to interview a series of cabinet ministers.