While Kaviraj claimed he was only referring to the profession of sex work, his delivery and the intention behind the punchline made it clear that it was meant to insult.
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The Indian stand-up comedy scene is facing serious backlash after several disturbing videos surfaced online; videos that many believe cross the line from humour to outright misogyny.
It all began when content creator Aman Pandey (@ghalibankabir) took to Instagram to slam comedian Kaviraj Singh for his comments in a stand-up bit that many found deeply offensive.
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In the clip, Kaviraj attempts to pass off derogatory language as humour, saying, “R***i is a profession, guys. Sex worker ko Hindi mein r***i kehte hain. Halaanki saare log r***i nahi kehte. Kai log influencer bhi kehte hain.”
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For Pandey, this wasn’t a joke. It was, in his words, “a visual representation of every man talking about a more successful woman in their field.”
While Kaviraj claimed he was only referring to the profession of sex work, his delivery and the intention behind the punchline made it clear that it was meant to insult. The crowd’s laughter, prompted by the way he delivered the word, suggested this was more about mockery than commentary.
The fallout was quick. Several women in the comedy and content creation space spoke up, pointing out that this wasn’t an isolated incident. Many began sharing their own negative experiences with Kaviraj, both in professional settings and personal interactions. Some described him as someone who made them uncomfortable with inappropriate remarks and behaviour, not just once, but repeatedly.
Actor and activist Swara Bhasker, now a new mother, added her voice to the growing criticism. In a strongly worded Instagram story, she said, “As a breastfeeding mother, all I can say is, go apologise to your mother. The rest of the clip is just standard normalising rape-culture incel nonsense humor. Vile stuff.”
But instead of reflecting on the backlash, other male comedians jumped in, not to call out the behaviour, but to defend it. Comicstaan Season 1 winner Nishant Suri was among those who released videos defending this as “freedom of speech.”
Nishant Suri said, “Comics are hypocrites. When the right-wing attacks comics, they come up with ‘freedom of speech’, but when a comic does it, they come up with calls for ban.”
In response, Aman Pandey shared a strong rebuttal in his video. “It’s not about the right-wing attacking comics with legal repercussions and other tactics. But when women are raising voices, they are not threatening anyone, they are scared. Scared of men making greenrooms and writers’ rooms unsafe for them. Right to free speech is not everything, there is right to safety, right to dignity, right to dignified labour also. It’s about creating a safer space.”
He also questioned, “Is this fight about hate speech, or is it about keeping the workplace safe?”
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This stance, many believe, suggested a troubling lack of awareness, or perhaps a deliberate refusal to see the harm such humour can cause.
The controversy didn’t end there. Some social media users began digging through old performances by other popular comedians, including those considered progressive, and found examples of them also using misogynistic tropes for laughs.
Zakir Khan, for instance, was called out for past jokes that feel out of place in a time where audiences are demanding accountability.
Comedy, at its best, punches up, not down. But when humour is used to demean, humiliate, or insult marginalised voices, it becomes a tool of reinforcement for harmful ideas and behaviours.
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