The Ranveer Allahbadia Controversy: When "Dark Humour" Crosses the Line, Prompting Selective Public Outrage

Many called the comment perverted, crass and offensive. The creators of the show were also called out, asking for more accountability before putting out such sexually explicit content without warnings.

Ranveer was quick to issue an apology, but the controversy has raged on. He posted a video on his Instagram and also wrote on Twitter “I shouldn’t have said what I said on India’s got latent. I’m sorry.” He said in the video: “My comment wasn’t appropriate. It wasn’t even funny. Comedy is not my forte”.

However, this isn’t the first time a problematic comment was made on the show. The show, and many other comedy shows, have frequently used ‘dark humour’ or punch-down humour in the name of comedy.

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The incident also sparked debate on another thing: How far can "dark humour" go before it stops being comedy?

We trace the many times worse things were said on such shows, and wonder why they never create as big controversies as this one.

When Does "Dark Humour" Become Offensive?

The incident with Ranveer Allahbadia isn’t just about one offhand remark—it’s part of a much bigger pattern in the comedy industry. Shows like India’s Got Latent and other comedy-based platforms have frequently used edgy, controversial, and often punch-down humour in the name of entertainment.

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A few weeks ago, a contestant named Bunty Bannerjee appeared on the same show, run by comedian Samay Raina. She went on to win the episode and her set sparked laughs, and cheers from both judges and the audience.

In the set, in the name of comedy, she joked about depression and outrage against rape. Bunty joked about the widespread protests against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College, saying “Bengalis must have gotten tired, after protesting so much.”
On an unrelated note, she had said, “Deepika Padukone recently became a mother, right? Now, she knows what depression looks like,” as part of the same set. It was a reference to the actor's battle with depression, which she’s publicly spoken about.

While Ranveer Allahbadia's remark faced immediate and intense backlash, Bunty Bannerjee's set, despite making light of serious issues like rape protests and mental health struggles, was only spoken about for a day or two. This contrast highlights the inconsistency in how audiences and platforms react to controversial content.

Women being mocked, rape being trivialized, and mental health struggles being turned into punchlines have all been met with far less outrage than a generic, albeit inappropriate, joke. The fact that Allahbadia’s question wasn’t even original—it was lifted directly from a Western talk show—further highlights the selective nature of public scrutiny.

Earlier, actor and influencer Uorfi Javed had walked out of the show after a contestant made derogatory remarks about her. She posted on her Instagram stories “I think I missed the memo, nowadays people think it’s cool to abuse someone or just s**t shame someone for some views. I’m sorry but I’m not ok with anyone abusing me, s**t shaming me for my body counts (which they don’t know but they just assumed it must be high). All this for what? For 2 mins of fame?”

The show has on repeated counts, brazenly promoted problematic content, which perhaps encouraged Allahbadia to assume his joke would be taken in the same spirit.

Kusha Kapila on 'Pretty Good Roast Show'

On a different show last year, comedian and influencer Kusha Kapila bore the brunt of dehumanising, offensive “jokes”, by Samay Raina.

Speaking on her divorce, he said In Hindi, “Kusha has a female dog, who is with Kusha half the time, and during the other half remains happy. Just give the dog to Zorawar. Let him have at least one b**ch in his life.”

Raina also made jibes about her weight loss, and called her a “gold-digger".

Kapila had later said, "While I endured some of the really raspy jokes in front of a live audience and technicians, I absolutely was not okay for it to play for millions of people since some jokes straight up dehumanised me. It was shockingly unkind.”

Also read: Kusha Kapila Broke Up. Can We Stop Obsessing Over It Already?

While some had criticized the content on the show, it didn’t rake up a controversy as big as the present Ranveer Allahbadia one – despite, objectively having far worse ‘jokes’ and ‘humour’.

Indian shows have had content where punching down is the norm, where weight, complexion, and other aspects are made fun of, in the garb of “entertaining content”. The outrage over this particular incident seems to stem from the fact that it targeted parents and touched upon societal taboos. It begs the question: where does our collective morality lie, as audiences, when we cause an uproar about this, but let most other problematic humour scot-free? What do we choose to be offended by, and what does it say about us?