Comedian Samay Raina marked his birthday on Sunday by issuing a public apology on Instagram for a controversial joke he made about people with disabilities. The remark, which he now deeply regrets, was reportedly related to a charity drive for a child needing an expensive injection for a rare disease, seemingly Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
Raina shared a note on his Instagram Stories stating, “Today is my birthday And instead of celebrating just myself, I want to use this day… to apologise to the people with disabilities.” He admitted the pain caused by the segment, which featured fellow comedians Vipul Goyal, Sonali Thakkar, Nishant Tanwar, and Balraj Ghai, who also shared regret for the show.
“We… deeply regret the pain caused due to our show. Going forward we will be more mindful and do our best to spread awareness about the challenges faced by the community. Your strength inspires us to grow,” the note concluded.
This apology follows legal trouble the comedians faced earlier this year. Back in July, Samay Raina and four other social media influencers appeared before the Supreme Court in a case seeking action against them for allegedly ridiculing persons suffering from disabilities, including SMA and blindness. The incident referenced during the controversial show involved a two-month-old baby needing a ₹16 crore injection for a life-threatening condition.
This is not Raina’s first brush with controversy this year; he was also booked by police in Maharashtra and Assam earlier over derogatory and sexually explicit comments made during his YouTube show India’s Got Latent, which he co-hosted with influencer Ranveer Allahbadia.