Comedian Utsav Chakraborty has been under fire after he has been accused of sexual violence by a woman on social media. The comedy group he has been working with, AIB, has been following the allegations and his case and has decided to chuck down all his videos from their videos.
ALSO READ: AIB turns Producer; Tanmay Bhatt announces the name of the film
“We are also aware that by extending safe working spaces and a collaborative environment to people like Utsav, we have contributed towards a toxic environment that can be scary and unsafe for women. And so we are sorry for any part we may have played in the tolerance or furthering of such behaviour,” AIB said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Statement pic.twitter.com/eLpthXifwf
— All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) October 4, 2018
After this statement, AIB has again put out a statement saying that they apologise for not taking any action on him sooner.
A statement ; We’re sorry pic.twitter.com/Lpa9HKyORb
— All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) October 5, 2018
By harassment, we meant that Utsav called up the person, cried, apologised, putting her in an uncomfortable position. Again, to clarify: this incident was only about the unsolicited picture in question. None of the other allegations were known to us.
— All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) October 5, 2018
A woman came forward with her story saying that the comedian sent her unsolicited nude pictures. Prominent stand-up comedians such as Varun Grover, Aditi Mittal and Kaneez Surka, Kunal Kamra and Abhishek Upmanyu have called out the person.
I’m receiving DMs from other girls telling me their stories. What a fucking creep are you @Wootsaw https://t.co/N83FpCtsAf
— Mahima Kukreja 🌱🌈✊🏽 (@AGirlOfHerWords) October 4, 2018
What the actual fuck @Wootsaw? What makes people think you will get away with this behaviour? But more importantly why do you people continue to behave this way? https://t.co/9KmF1nWvMP
— Kaneez Surka (@kaneezsurka) October 4, 2018
Shameful, creepy, ugly behavior by a fellow comic (Utsav/@Wootsaw). More stories coming out, all because @AGirlOfHerWords decided to speak out. Indian Comedy, like every other industry, needs a #TimesUp. https://t.co/WpVGdQlvkZ
— वरुण (@varungrover) October 4, 2018
A lot of people knew about and he still kept getting work. A lot of work and money. Work and money other non-harassers could have done. No one cared. Coz “it’s Utsav ya” or “but he’s VERY funny”. He just kept getting away with it. More power to you Mahima for calling him out.
— Abhishek Upmanyu (@AbhiUpmanyu) October 4, 2018
We as a scene, specifically the men here, need to reexamine everything right now. I myself am guilty of being part of a culture where we haven’t listened to the women. And this is the wake up call we need.
We are listening.
And we believe you.— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) October 4, 2018
Utsav apologised for his behaviour in a series of tweets and said there is no excuse for it. “To be honest, from all accounts, I’ve been a piece of s**t. And I will try to do everything I can work past that. There was no excuse. I know inconsiderate and entitled. Even in this narrative, when this whole thing started, I kept looking at myself as the victim,” he wrote.
Statement 1/n pic.twitter.com/sIouz4UsaR
— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 4, 2018
To be honest, from all accounts, I’ve been a piece of shit. And I will try to do everything I can work past that. There was no excuse. I know inconsiderate and entitled. Even in this narrative, when this whole thing started, I kept looking at myself as the victim.
— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 4, 2018
But now I know I have been the exact monster I’ve been trying to fight all my life. And I would like to do everything I can to make this better for everyone who has been hurt. Everything short of killing myself. And trust me, that has crossed my mind so often today.
— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 4, 2018
I tried to talk to Mahima (@agirlofherwords) & sort it out way back in 2016. She would have none of it and why would she? She has never known me in real life, and even if she did – how is that for a respite? Even if my intention wasn’t to make her feel shitty the truth is, I did.
— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 4, 2018
In my head it was just plain sexting. Because I had made up this egalitarian society where women constantly don’t get harassed every waking moment of the day. And I would look at myself and say but I’m so woke. I’m not like *those* guys.
— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 4, 2018
And Snapchat was the worst thing to happen to me in this stage in my life. Some nice people did send me nudes there and I started assuming that everyone was that forthcoming and open to sexting. That was the worst thought that I could have had. But I did.
— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 4, 2018
Later, Mumbai police took an account of this and replied to the tweet of the woman by “We have followed you. Request you to inbox your number. We will look into this on priority.”