After Munmun Dutta, Yuvika Choudhary utters casteist slur, angers netizens
What's the story
Yuvika Choudhary is the latest celebrity to earn the wrath of netizens over misinformed/ignorant conduct. In one of her recent vlogs, the actress uttered a casteist slur, while shooting husband-actor Prince Narula getting his hair styled. Soon after its release, the clip went viral with people demanding her arrest. Earlier, television actress Munmun Dutta was embroiled in a similar controversy, for that same word.
Twitter Post
This problematic clip shows the entire episode
@thevijaysampla ji do something!
— Nakul (@nakul__voice) May 25, 2021
Yuvika Chaudhary committed an offence under section 153A of IPC which is a cognizable non-bailable offence for which she must be arrested. #ArrestYuvikaChoudhary pic.twitter.com/GJNQw5gp2S
Context
#ArrestYuvikaChoudhary started trending on Twitter, has over 43K posts
Adopting a taunting tone, the Om Shanti Om actress was heard saying in the video, "Why do I always dress like a bhangi when I'm shooting vlogs?" The objectionable word here is "bhangi," an SC surname, but is often wrongfully used as a slang in casual conversations. Netizens took offense to this, and made #ArrestYuvikaChoudhary a trend, which has over 43K tweets now.
Acceptance
Choudhary apologized promptly, but it did not help her case
Facing massive backlash, the ex-Bigg Boss contestant issued an apology, saying that she wasn't aware of the word's meaning. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone and I can never do that to hurt someone I apologize to each n every one I hope you understand love you all (sic)," read her tweet. But it did her more harm, further riling up the netizens.
Action
Cops have been asked to book her under SC/ST Act
Alleging that celebrities are normalizing the slur, one Twitter user said, "This is non-negotiable." Many brought back Dutta's episode and asked Choudhary how she did not know the meaning of the word, when her colleague had been thrashed over the matter just a few days ago. One user went ahead and tagged Maharashtra Police, urging them to book her under the SC/ST Act.
Implications
An advocate claimed to have filed a complaint too
Another post informed netizens that Choudhary has committed "an offense under section 153A of IPC which is a cognizable & non-bailable offense." For the unversed, section 153A pertains to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, etc. An advocate, named Sudhanshu Chandra, tweeted to say that he has filed a complaint and "strict action will be taken" soon.
Information
FIR was also filed against Dutta on Saturday
Like Choudhary, Dutta had also apologized for using the slur, claiming she did not know the meaning of the word. Still, an advocate filed an FIR under relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against her on Saturday.