Vir Das Slams Mainstream Media Amid Controversy Surrounding 'India’s Got Latent' Joke: 'Bunch Of Irrelevant Anchors...'
Comedian Vir Das responded to Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia's joke, criticising mainstream media for its role in the backlash.
New Delhi: Comedian Vir Das weighed in on the ongoing discussion of what makes good humour in light of the recent criticism of comic Samay Raina and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia over an offensive joke on ‘India’s Got Latent’. On Wednesday, the 45-year-old comedian, trashed Indian newsrooms on Instagram stories while stressing the need to support popular new media platforms.
Even though Vir Das respected the audience's freedom to critique comedy content, he did note that criticism might have serious professional repercussions for comedians. He wrote, “The audience is always welcome to debate what good comedy is. A good artist will take their feedback head down, mouth shut, and maybe evolve. Either way the consequences of your comedy on your career and audience are pretty instant. That’s a natural process."
According to Vir Das, the mainstream media is "bordering extinction." He made the following statement: “But we are also watching a bunch of irrelevant mainstream media anchors bordering extinction coming together to take down new media that gets millions more views, longer interviews, and far more impact than their bloated studios and fat salary at 1 per cent of the cost. Whether you like the new media or not is irrelevant."
Vir Das ended his note by urging readers to hold journalists to the same standards as stand-up comedians. "While we debate what good comedy is, please debate what good journalism is, and the news that they SHOULD be doing, the questions they SHOULD be asking, and who they should be asking them to," he concluded.
About ‘India’s Got Latent’ Controversy
The controversy started when Ranveer Allahbadia questioned a contestant during a roast section on ‘India's Got Latent’, "Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once and stop it forever?" This statement caused quite a stir.
Later on, in a video, Ranveer expressed his regret for making the joke and stated that he didn't understand comedy.
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