It has not been a good few days for comedians in India. Days after stand-up comic Agrima Joshua faced massive backlash after a now-deleted video showed her making a joke about Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rohan Joshi has now made himself scarce on social media.
The comedian who co-founded All India Bakchod (AIB) some time ago, says that his feed has been inundated with angry netizens spewing vitriol. The attack has however moved beyond the virtual, with Joshi's phone number and address being leaked.
"The last few days have been a circus of abuse, threats, 2 am phone calls and anxious spirals," he wrote on Instagram, adding that he was going offline for a few days.
He also apologised "without any qualifications" to anyone who might have been offended by his comments. The comedian also urged people to leave his family alone.
"See you on the other side whenever I guess. I’m sorry if I offended anyone’s sentiments with my words and I apologise without any qualifications and reservations for any words I have spoken that have hurt someone’s religious sentiments," he said.
While a part of the internet continues to rail against the fact that people apparently "just can't take a joke", not everyone is quite sympathetic. If one looks through the comment section of Joshi's social media feeds, there are many who have taken it upon themselves to insult him, not bothering to censor their language.
At the same time, there has been an outpouring of supportive comments for Joshi and the step that he has taken.
