India’s Got Latent featured a contestant from Arunachal Pradesh, who made controversial remarks about people from the North East eating dog meat. An FIR has been lodged against the woman
Samay Raina Pic/Instagram
Stand-up comedian Samay Raina, who recently featured on an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 16, is now in trouble after his popular show India’s Got Latent featured a contestant from Arunachal Pradesh, who made controversial remarks about people from the North East eating dog meat. An FIR has been lodged against the woman.
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🚨: Samay Raina’s ‘India’s Got Latent’ Faces Backlash Over Contestant’s Remarks; FIR Filed
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Popular YouTube reality show India’s Got Latent, hosted by comedian Samay Raina, has landed in controversy after contestant Jessy Nabam’s remarks about the people of… pic.twitter.com/BJfkkIt4U1
FIR against India’s Got Latent contestant
Jessy Nabam, an Arunachal Pradesh resident, appeared as a contestant on India’s Got Latent where she shared her views about people of the state. When Samay Raina asked her if she’d ever eaten dog meat, Jessy said that she’d never tasted it but was aware of her friends eating it. She further stated that they even eat their pets at times. The members-only episode also featured comedians Akash Gupta and Mallika Dua on the judges’ panel.
Following the episode, an FIR was registered against Jessy, and a copy of the same has gone viral on social media. Armaan Ram Welly Bakha, a resident of Seppa, East Kameng District, Arunachal Prades has filed it at Itanagar Police Station.
He wrote, “An Arunachal Pradesh girl named Jessy Nabam is insulting our indigenous, local, and tribal people. She said we are dog-eating people and we eat our pets. I request you to take action so no one can do it in the future.”
Is Dog meat banned in Arunachal Pradesh?
Dog meat is not banned in Arunachal Pradesh. However, some North Eastern states have passed strict laws to prohibit its consumption. The Mizoram Animal Slaughter (Amendment) Bill, 2020 removed dogs from the list of animals that can be killed for meat. Meghalaya issued an order in 2021 that prohibited the slaughter of dogs for any purpose. Nagaland also decided to ban the commercial import and trading of dogs and dog markets and also the sale of the meat, both cooked and uncooked.
Samay Raina’s previous controversies
Samay Raina courted controversy for making a series of tweets regarding abortion rights. His insensitive and dismissive remarks sparked social media ire. In one tweet from 2022, he wrote, "The other day, I spent half an hour coming up with a funny tweet about my girlfriend. She didn’t like it, so she made me delete it. Tomorrow, if I ask for an abortion, don’t tell me 'my body, my choice.'"
This isn’t the first time Samay has faced backlash. Actor-influencer Kusha Kapila also called him out for his ‘dehumanizing’ joke on a sensitive topic like her divorce from Zorawar Singh Ahluwalia.
