Samay Raina lands in new legal trouble after insensitive joke about disability, following India’s Got Latent controversy
Trigger Warning: This article talks about insensitive remarks related to disability.
Comedian and YouTuber Samay Raina is once again in trouble — this time for making an insensitive joke about people with disabilities. This comes just after he faced backlash for his comments on the show India’s Got Latent.
According to NDTV, the Supreme Court has now taken notice of a joke Samay made about a blind person and a two-month-old baby suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) — a rare and serious condition. The baby’s treatment required Rs 16 crore, and people had raised money through donations. However, Samay made fun of this heartbreaking situation, which led to even more outrage.
The Cure SMA Foundation of India brought this matter to the court, pointing out how expensive the treatment is — especially the medicine called Zolgensma, a one-time gene therapy that costs around Rs 16 crore. They filed a petition to raise awareness about how unaffordable this medicine is for most Indian families and how hard it is to raise such large amounts of money.
During the hearing, Justice Surya Kant expressed deep concern over the issue. He said,
“We are really disturbed by the allegations… include the person concerned (Samay Raina)… and suggest measures. We’ll then take a call.”
The Cure SMA Foundation also criticized Samay’s joke, saying that it’s very hurtful when people dealing with a serious illness like SMA are made fun of. They added that it becomes even harder to raise funds and spread awareness when public figures say such things in the name of comedy.
They shared,
“This already tough task becomes worse when people like Samay Raina host comedy shows and make jokes about people suffering from such conditions and the cost of treatment.”
The petition also pointed out that this is not the first time people with disabilities have been mocked on social media — they’re often made the subject of jokes, pity, or entertainment.
What exactly did Samay say?
While performing on India’s Got Latent, Samay had said:
“A two-month-old baby needs a Rs 16 crore injection.”
Then, pointing to a woman in the audience, he added:
“Ma’am, if you were the mother and Rs 16 crore suddenly came into your bank account… wouldn’t you at least look at your husband and say, ‘Hmmm… inflation is rising’?”
In another instance, when a visually impaired contestant appeared on the show, Samay asked him:
“Can I ask you a question, my brother… which of your eyes should I look into?”
These comments sparked massive criticism, especially on social media.
Earlier, the show India’s Got Latent also faced controversy after Ranveer Allahbadia made an inappropriate comment about parents and s*x. Because of that, the show’s episodes were taken down.
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