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A controversial episode of the comedy show India’s Got Latent has been removed from YouTube by government order following what the ministry called “obscene” jokes made by content creator Ranveer Allahbaida (also known as “Beer Biceps”).
Kanchan Gupta, the senior advisor at India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confirmed as much in an X post, writing “The India Has Latent episode on @YouTube with obscene and perverse comments by Ranveer Allahbadia has been blocked following Government of India orders.” A black screen will show with the error message “video unavailable” if you try to watch it now.
A sexual joke caused the deletion
Allahbadia was featured on bonus episode 6 of India’s Got Latent, and a clip of a “would you rather” question he asked went viral soon after. He asked a contestant a distasteful but common question in this style of game, “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day or join them once to finish it once and for all?”
According to Times of India, the remark caused nationwide debate, with people outraged by what he said. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also stepped in, urging YouTube to remove the video. ANI also reported that Priyank Kanoongo of the NHRC wrote to the platform’s head of public policy, Mira Chatt, asking that YouTube take “urgent action.” A report regarding the clip was also allegedly filed with the relevant police authorities.
YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia controversy | NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo writes to Mira Chatt, Head Public Policy, YouTube, directing “to take urgent action to remove the concerned episode/videos from YouTube. Prior to the removal of such content, you are also required to submit… pic.twitter.com/fxZbHzPo7i
— ANI (@ANI) February 10, 2025
Since then, all videos of the show have been banished from the channel. The Indian government has a low tolerance for what is considered vulgar, evidenced by the swift action taken. The incident has sparked debate about whether comedy culture has gone awry, or whether the government is going too far in its efforts to minimize content that may be perceived as obscene.
In a 2020 article, titled Obscenity or Absurdity: The Unclear Laws in India, published in the Haryana Police Journal, Aashia Jindal and Sanket Gupta write, “The Constitution of India has, on one hand, provided the freedom of speech and expression to its citizens while at the same time, IPC and other statues discussed within the article have curtailed this freedom by penalizing those expressions which come within the ambits of the term ‘Obscene.’”
What happened next?
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
It’s unclear if the video was removed by YouTube or the account’s administrator, but the takedown is more symbolic than meaningful at this point, as the clip has already been shared on the internet beyond the point of attempted censorship. Likely under pressure to do so, Allahbadi apologized in a video on X.
He admitted that comedy is his not forte, saying, “My comment wasn’t appropriate. It wasn’t even funny.” He added, “Many of you asked if this is how I wished to use my platform and obviously this is not how I wish to use it. I am not going to give any context, justification, or reason.”
“I personally had a lapse in judgment. It wasn’t cool on my part. The podcast was watched by people
of all ages. Don’t want to be the kind of person that takes responsibility lightly and family is the last
thing I would ever disrespect.”
He also said, “Need to use this platform better. That’s been my learning from this whole
experience. I promise to just get better. Have asked the makers of the video to remove the insensitive sections from the video.”
Who is Ranveer Allahbadia?
Allahbadia is a popular podcaster (he claims to have India’s number one top-ranked podcast) and YouTuber who covers several topics including wellness, self-development, and lifestyle. He commonly appears on similar shows, too.
“India has close to a billion internet users. Pretty sure my pretty face has reached most of them. 9+ years in content. 850+ podcasts. 31+ years of [tomfoolery],” reads his X bio. He’s not known for comedy content, saying himself it’s not his “forte.” Something tells us he’ll be staying clear of it in the future, too.