A 40-second clipping from Colors' dance reality show 'Dance Deewane 3' has gone viral online and is receiving backlash for its racist slurs. Dancer Raghav Juyal who hosts the show is seen introducing an Assamese child contestant, Gunjan Sinha, by mimicking a Chinese accent and going on to make fun of her northeastern origins.
Here is the video of the incident:
The introduction was called out widely by users who said the show was enabling racist and offensive remarks.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, CM of Assam, also issued a statement in the matter. "It has come to my notice that a popular reality show host has used racist rhetoric against a young participant from Guwahati. This is shameful and totally unacceptable. Racism has no place in our country and we should all condem it unequivocally," read his tweet.
Following this criticism, Raghav Juyal has issued a clarification. In a 3-minute video, he talks about how viewers have judged the incident based on a small part of the show and have accused him without seeing the whole picture.
He talks about how Gunjan herself claimed she could speak in Chinese, and while it was still gibberish, the show thought to pick that up and carry it forward as a joke. He defended the incident as a running joke that has been on for a while and claimed he is not a racist. Here is his full statement:
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