A clip from the latest 'India's Got Latent' episode sparks outrage as the contestant mocks Deepika Padukone's long battle with depression.
A recent video clip from comic, Samay Raina’s show, India’s Got Latent has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. The clip, which shows a female contestant trolling Bollywood actress, Deepika Padukone for her depression battle, has sparked outrage among audiences online. The panel, which also included a neurologist, also received flak for trivialising mental health and clinical depression.
India’s Got Latent is a quirky online talent show created by the popular 'dark comedian', Samay Raina. While the show is a cult favourite among many, there’s no denying the fact that trolling and mockery sometimes cross the fine line between humour and harmful stereotypes.
The latest episode is one such example where a female contestant made fun of Deepika Padukone’s depression, and it was not received well. Besides Samay, the episode’s judging panel saw guests like Tanmay Bhat, Raghu Ram, (neurologist) Dr Sid Warrier, and Balraj Singh Ghai.
The viral clip on Reddit shows a contestant, Bunty Banerjee, making a cheeky remark about Deepika Padukone for being a mom to her newborn daughter, Dua. Referring to Deepika’s past struggles with clinical depression, Bunty quipped:
“Deepika Padukone became a mom recently, right? Great, now she’ll really understand what depression feels like… I am not trying to insult breakup-wala depression, actually – I am.”
Everyone, including the neurologist on the panel, found it humorous. However, her joke was insensitive to those struggling with depression.
Watch the clip here.
While some users thought the joke was funny, others disagreed. They pointed out that trivialising mental health, especially depression, isn't acceptable. Unlike the joke, Deepika's experience was serious and complex. So, while the live audience laughed, many online users found the joke offensive and disrespectful to women's mental health. One Redditor wrote:
“This is so exhausting. Deepika has NEVER ever claimed that her depression was a result of a break-up… Her whole point of coming out and speaking of her depression was to show that she, a person who should’ve had no reason to feel that way, went through clinical depression… this is not only unfunny but also extremely inaccurate.”
Users were more outraged to find that none from the judging panel pointed out that the joke went too far. To see that Dr Sid Warrior was one of the judges was more upsetting because he is known to educate people about mental health on his social pages.
One Reddit user commented, “It's not about Deepika, but a woman's mental health being made fun of on national television, all for male validation by a female comedian.” Another wrote, “Ok making fun of someone’s mental health is not cool or fun at all”. Some users shared their or their loved ones’ experiences struggling with depression and highlighted the insensitivity of the joke, considering the severity of the condition.
Deepika Padukone was among the first celebrities to open up about their raw struggles with anxiety and depression, despite being at the peak of their careers. She also founded the Live Love Laugh Foundation in 2015 to raise awareness about mental health in India and launched the ‘More Than Just Sad’ campaign to help doctors treat depression and anxiety.
What do you think about the contestant’s joke on Deepika’s battle with depression?
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