Days after launching their new campaign featuring comedian Tanmay Bhat, Kotak Mahindra Bank has taken the advertisement down after facing severe heat on the internet.
It all started when the bank launched their new ad starring Tanmay Bhat and netizens dug out the controversial comedian's decade old tweets, wherein he had made remarks about children, rape and Lord Ganesha.
The organisation has now taken down the advertorial and has clarified that it does not endorse the views of the comedian.
All about Tanmay Bhat - Kotak Mahindra Bank controversy
As soon as Tanmay's Kotak Mahindra Bank ad was dropped online, the Twitterati dug out his old tweets in which he had apparently made fun of young girls, child rapes and Lord Ganesha.
In one of the tweets, he had written, "How do you know children don't love rape?", while another tweet read, "For someone who's supposed to remove obstacles, Ganesh surely does a shit job with traffic".
Sharing his tweets, actress Kangana Ranaut had tweeted, "Problem with most right wing ideologists is that they perceive leftists choices as their mistakes,please understand Tanmay has been chosen as a brand match for precisely what you are objecting to."
Several other personalities had also condemned Tanmay's tweets and had called out the bank for making him the face of the campaign.
Kotak Mahindra Bank takes down ad
Taking into congnizance the displeasure of the netizens, the Kotak Mahindra Bank announced that it has decided to take the ad down.
"We, at Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. do not support or endorse the views of actors made in their personal capacity that harm or offend any individual or group. We have withdrawn the campaign," the official handle of the bank tweeted.
About Tanmay Bhat
Tanmay Bhat was one of the founding members of the controversial comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB), which has now fallen apart. The comedian has time and again faced criticism on social media for his sarcastic remarks and jokes that he puts up online.
Earlier, several complaints and FIRs had been lodged against him for cracking jokes at the expense of Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In 2018, he was also accused of keeping mum when his fellow teammate Utsav Chakraborty sent lewd messages to women over social media apps.
