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Celeb designer Saisha Shinde calls out ‘PROGRESSIVE’ comedian Vir Das’ transphobic joke: Says it shook my core
Comedian Vir Das’ recent joke was called out for being 'transphobic' and celebrity designer Saisha Shinde reacted stating,“ I didn’t remove my organs because they weren’t working properly.” Has the joke gone too far?
Standup comedians in India are on the rise and we love how they make us laugh and tickle our funny bones. But, there are times when jokes cross some limit. While calling out politicians, mocking actors, jokes on religion and culture surely entertain a few of us, they equally manage to upset others at the same time. A few comedians have also reportedly received murder calls and even rape threats for their ‘jokes’. One such case was when famous comedian, Vir Das, had tweeted earlier this July: “My pronouns are Heh/ Huh.” His tweet was not well- received by the netizens and he had to face the heat of the people which eventually made him delete the post.
Well, right after he deleted his tweet, his inability to stand up for his own ‘misunderstood’ joke and neutralizing it without proper apology offended a lot more people leaving behind ghosts of exasperating responses for his deleted tweet. On August 10th, he brought the topic back on Episode 5 of #TenOnTen Tribalism & Cancel Culture vs Comedy on his standup comedy YouTube video where he went on with his joke, “Trans people have the courage to discard an organ if it isn’t working properly for them.” Laughter follows after a second or two. While the video is still receiving millions of views, it’s celebrity designer Saisha Shinde’s recent reaction to his transphobic joke that won all the attention.
The designer said that she had to voice an opinion about this as it’s very personal to her. Her long message stated that a transgender person is not defined purely by the “organs” he or she may have or not have, and it was disgraceful to hear such a comment. The 39-year-old designer, who came out as a trans woman in January also mentioned how she battled her last 6 months since her coming out with the sheer pain of people calling her 'Sir' even though she is transitioning! The designer ended her message by saying how these jokes can damage trans people’s confidence and play with their insecurities. She stated, “A majority of the LGBTQI community stay in the closet … for reasons such as these … so that they don’t get ridiculed, so that they don’t get labels as SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THEM !” Netizens flooded her comment section with supportive messages.
While India is in a growing phase of being gender-inclusive, opening up to the idea of different genders, and accepting each other with love, what are your thoughts on Vir Das' joke on this subject? Tell us in the comments below.
