A short video of comedian Samay Raina crying has gone viral. In this, Raina, tears, can be heard saying in Hindi, “I was late to watch it…” while his other sentences are cut off.
The stand-up comic has been in the eye of a storm after YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia or ‘BeerBiceps’ made a controversial remark in an episode of his show ‘India’s Got Latent’. The Maharashtra Cyber Cell registered a case against those involved in the episode on February 12, while the Guwahati Police also filed an FIR.
Many on social media have shared Raina’s clip and claimed that his reaction was result of the backlash over the show and Allahbadia’s comments.
Instagram handle @playottclips uploaded the video as a reel, which garnered 30.4 million views.
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Another Instagram handle indian_podcast07 also uploaded the same video with the same claim and received 7.1 million views.
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Media outlet DNA also used a frame from the viral video in their YouTube thumbnail for reportage on the controversy.
YouTube channel The Quick News used the same clip in their video titled, “Samay Raina Emotional & Apologises After Complaint Against Him For His Show India’s Got Latent Jokes”, garnering over 2 million views.
Fact Check
Alt News found that the video had been clipped from an old satirical video uploaded by Samay Raina on June 17, 2024. The original video is an endorsement for JioCinema Premium.
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The parts that have been clipped out from the viral video actually have references to the show ‘House of Dragon’ and are in no way related to the controversy. Below is a translation of what Raina says:
“Friends my name is Samay Raina and I suffer from this condition called Spolierophobia… It started with Game of Thrones and continued with House of the Dragon. I was a little late to watch it and everybody came and spoiled it for me… That trauma (of the spoilers) has gone from my life but will never leave my mind…”
Thus an eight-month video was clipped and shared by many Instagram handles and YouTube channels with the false claim that Raina was crying and apologising after the row over his show, ‘India’s Got Latent’, spiralled. On February 12, Raina issued a statement that all episodes of the show ‘India’s Got Latent’ have been removed in the backdrop of everything that has been going on.
Similarly, an old video of Ranveer Allahbadia, which he recorded in 2021 after testing positive for Covid-19, was also viral on social media with claims that he was emotional after the controversy snowballed into a major issue.
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