Tanmay Bhat reacts to India's Got Latent controversy, calls himself 'comedy’s patient zero'

Comedian Tanmay Bhat has finally broken his silence on the controversy surrounding his fellow comic Samay Raina’s show, India’s Got Latent. The show, which featured content creators and comedians as judges, sparked outrage after YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia made an inappropriate joke in one of the episodes. This led to legal trouble for both Samay and Ranveer, with multiple FIRs being filed against them for alleged obscenity.

Tanmay, who is often regarded as a mentor figure to Samay, addressed the controversy in one of his recent YouTube reaction videos. A fan asked why he was not 'taking a stand' for Samay and Ranveer amid the backlash. In response, Tanmay questioned, “How come these people are not taking a stand for everything that’s happening?” His former All India Bakchod (AIB) colleague, Rohan Joshi, was also present and added, “We are literally here doing our job. What more stand do you need?”

Another panellist, comedian Kaustubh, made light of Tanmay’s mentor-like role in Samay’s career and jokingly referred to him as Samay’s ‘godfather’. Adding to the humour, panellist Piyush Sharma referenced a famous dialogue from Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, saying, “They are expecting ki Tanmay bolega ki ‘Bete se pehle baap ke through jaana hoga (You have to go through the father to mess with the son).’”

Tanmay also reflected on his own past controversies, particularly the backlash he faced after AIB’s infamous Roast of Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in 2015. Comparing his experiences to an illness, he said, “Whenever someone in your family falls sick with a rare illness, you remember an uncle who had the same condition seven years ago and call him to ask about it. I am comedy’s patient zero.”

India’s Got Latent controversy

Samay Raina’s show India’s Got Latent, streamed on YouTube, featured contestants showcasing their talents while a panel of judges critiqued their performances. The controversy erupted when Ranveer Allahbadia asked a fan an inappropriate question, leading to outrage on social media. Facing mounting legal pressure, Samay ultimately deleted all episodes of the show from his channel.

Also read: Viral video: Austrian skier captures rare ‘sun candle’ phenomenon, leaves netizens stunned