Alia Bhatt did not laugh at the Epstein Island joke on ‘India’s Got Latent’. Samay Raina clapped. The internet noticed

Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent has returned. The season 2 premiere dropped simultaneously on Netflix and YouTube. Within hours, it crossed 15 million views. But what followed was not celebration. A single joke triggered a wave of outrage online, and it is not dying down.

The first episode featured Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt and Sharvari as special guests, appearing alongside comedians Ashish Solanki and Balraj Ghai on the panel. The two actresses were also there to promote their upcoming film Alpha, set to release on July 3.

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The episode featured several contestants performing in front of the panel. One act in particular became the flashpoint for everything that followed.

The Trump joke that started it all

Comedian Avinash Agarwal performed a Donald Trump impression during the episode. During the act, a reference to Epstein’s Little St. James Island was made after Samay asked for oil as part of the bit. The exact line delivered was: “You want oil? Come to the island. There’s a lot of oil.”

Agarwal’s performance included jokes about international politics, current events, Bollywood songs. He copied Trump’s speaking style, body language, accent. He was eventually declared the winner of the episode.

But the oil joke did not go unnoticed.

Alia Bhatt did not join the laughter

alia bhatt’s reaction to the epstein island “joke”
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While the audience cheered and Samay Raina was seen clapping, Alia looked sideways and appeared visibly uncomfortable at the joke. She did not laugh. She did not engage with the bit.

Several viewers also pointed out that the panel’s laughter during the moment made the situation worse. Alia’s response, in contrast, drew significant attention. Many users on X praised her for not participating in the moment.

Why people are angry

The line was linked by viewers to the infamous property in the US Virgin Islands associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations involving the abuse and trafficking of underage girls.

Epstein Island is globally associated with serious crimes involving exploitation and abuse. Viewers felt that turning it into a punchline crossed a line. Social media reactions were swift and critical. Many users described joke as tone deaf and inappropriate. They said that such sensitive subject should not be ‘mere entertainment’. The backlash largely centres on the idea that certain topics should remain off limits in comedy, especially those tied to real-life trauma.

On X, a user wrote: “So, Epstein Island is a joke for that clown Samay Raina despite knowing whatever cruelty has happened to children and women on that island? They all laughed and enjoyed the joke. Ill people.” Another user posted: “Jokes about Epstein Island will never ever be funny, man. This is beyond disgusting.”

The show’s troubled history

This incident comes at a time when India’s Got Latent was attempting to rebuild its image after earlier criticism.

The backlash from Season 1 began after influencer Ranveer Allahbadia made remarks during an episode that many viewers considered offensive. Multiple FIRs were subsequently filed against Allahbadia and the show’s producers. The matter later reached the Supreme Court, which granted him interim protection from arrest while criticising the remarks as vulgar.

All episodes were made private from YouTube on February 12, 2025. In November 2025, Raina revealed he was planning a second season. In April 2026, he released a stand-up special titled Still Alive, where he remarked that his show’s first season could not have ended on a higher note.

Season 2 was meant to mark a clean restart. Instead, it has walked straight into another controversy, just one episode in.

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