Stand up comedian and YouTuber Samay Raina opened up about one of the most difficult periods of his life in his new stand-up special Still Alive, released more than a year after the controversy surrounding his show India’s Got Latent. Samay revealed that he nearly lost Rs 8 crore and the incident brought intense scrutiny and legal trouble.
Samay explained that the controversy erupted after a taped episode of the show featured YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia making an inappropriate joke. The clip triggered backlash online, leading to multiple FIRs being filed against the YouTuber and other creators in several states.
Recalling his life before the controversy, Raina said things had been going exceptionally well for him. “I sometimes wonder if I should’ve edited that video. I had such a great life going on till January 2025. Every YouTube video of mine had 5 to 6 crore views. Every reel, every podcast is talking about me. I’m in all their thumbnails. Every celebrity wants to meet me. All other comedians are jealous of me. They were struggling to make similar content. It was so much fun. I was king, man,” recalled Samay.
At the time, he had also announced what was set to be his biggest stand-up tour in the United States, selling more than 50,000 tickets. However, the controversy soon overshadowed the moment. Samay described suffering an anxiety attack backstage before one of his performances, but still choosing to go on stage.
He also revealed that the situation could have cost him dearly. If he had been summoned during the legal proceedings while the tour was underway, he might have been forced to cancel the shows. That, he said, would have put his entire life savings of about Rs 8 crore at risk.
The emotional stress grew as he began receiving abusive messages and threats online. Describing his mental state at the time, he said, “I swear to God I felt like it was a dream, it wasn’t real… It’s called psychosis.”
As the controversy intensified, Samay deleted all episodes of India’s Got Latent in an attempt to cooperate with authorities. Despite the turmoil, he continued performing stand-up shows internationally and used the experience as material for Still Alive.
