Tyler Oliveira, an American YouTuber, has caused a lot of trouble on social media after posting a video of himself taking part in the Gorehabba festival, a rite in a town in Karnataka, India, where people fling cow poop at each other.
The video, which was taken in Gumatapura village and published on X (previously Twitter), rapidly went viral, with reports saying it got five million views on the site. People on social media quickly criticized the content producer, saying he was racist and making fun of a Hindu tradition that marks the conclusion of Diwali. People in the area believe that Beereshwara Swamy, the village’s god, was born from cow poo. The festival honors this story.
The minute-long video shows 25-year-old Oliveira in a hazmat suit and goggles walking through the mushy ground with festivalgoers coated in cow excrement. He can be heard shouting, “Spare me, so much s–t,” before big pieces of poop hit him and he quickly left the area. Later, he wrote another piece called “I Survived India’s Poop-Throwing Festival.”
YouTuber’s Apology and Defense of Mocking
As the anger developed online, Oliveira went to his X account to respond to the harsh comments. He posted a series of remarks that many people thought were mocking:
He tweeted, “I’m sorry India…” and then posted a picture with a mocking text bubble that said, “STUDY FOUND THAT INDIANS ACTUALLY SHOWER WAY MORE THAN PEOPLE IN THE UNTIED STATES.”
Defiance: In another post, he criticized an international journal for how it covered the incident, saying, “It isn’t racist to film a poop-throwing festival.” Did an Indian write this?
More Mockery: He kept posting things that seemed to make fun of the idea that the ceremony had healing or sacred powers. One post said, “Indian family tries to use cow poop to bring their son back to life…” The rabbit hole of cow feces gets even deeper. He also said that a lot of people were reporting his video and that some Indians thought his trip was “Pakistanis funded.”
What People Said on Social Media
Most of the responses on the internet were hostile and strong. Critics said Oliveira was disrespectful to Indian traditions and was trying to make the celebration look bad on purpose. Some of the comments were:
“This is so dumb. “Don’t be racist.”
“Stop taking advantage of India, man.”
“He’s not here to learn; he’s here to hurt. It’s hard to imagine that this isn’t part of a coordinated slander campaign.
“Why do you have to go to India and then film a cow dung festival in the middle of it and cry like a loser?”
Who is Tyler Oliveira?
Tyler Oliveira is an American YouTuber who is known for his travel-based challenge videos and interviews with people on the street. His X bio says he’s just a “man with a camera asking people questions with a small microphone.”
At the time of writing:
He has more than 8.28 million people that follow him on YouTube.
On X, he has more than 170,000 followers.
Oliveira has a history of causing trouble because of his trips to India. He started a fight when he said he got many kinds of Salmonella while only dining “in 5-star hotels” on a vacation to the country. He linked his illness to “serious hygiene issues” that he said were not racist to talk about.