Kusha Kapila Opens Up About Samay Raina's Roast: Some Jokes Straight Up Dehumanized Me

Kusha Kapila has recently opened up about 'raspy jokes' on her divorce with Zohrawar Singh Ahluwalia in a 'shockingly unkind' roast by Samay Raina. She has shared a long note on her social media.

"I Had No Idea..."

She wrote, "It was done in good faith and for a friend. Nobody has been paid (neither comics nor guests) for it so argument that people are being paid big fat cheques to hear their insults is baseless. I had no idea what was in store for me. Maybe I should have asked for a script and known better but since friends were involved I didn't. Rookie mistake.”

"It Was Shockingly Unkind"

She added, “While I endured some of the really raspy jokes in front of a live audience and technicians, I absolutely was not okay for it to play for millions of people since some jokes straight up dehumanised me. It was shockingly unkind.”

"I Deserve These Jokes..."

She continued, “Mine was the first episode to be shot (was shot in January) so everyone had fair bit of learnings post shoot which is why in other episodes, boundaries haven't been crossed, especially with women. Over the course of last six months during negotiations, I have been told that I deserve these jokes and that as a divorced woman I should have seen this coming. Maybe I should have and maybe silence on this topic is seen as cowardice but it's mostly choosing peace over endless discourse that will likely villainise women.”

"A considerable section of the male audience believing I deserve this roast further proves our decision to censor the jokes. You may write something as a joke but it's not in your hands if it will be perceived as one. Many women in the live audience post the roast shared their disapproval of the jokes and I understood where they came from and I, too, come from the same place."

"I Didn't Stage A Walkout..."

“We all have our boundaries and all of those boundaries are valid and should be respected. I may have sat for the roast but I don't stand for everything that has come out of it. I take pride in the fact that I didn't stage a walkout and after what was thrown at me, I found the gumption to still perform," she concluded.

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A post shared by Kusha Kapila (@kushakapila)

For unversed, Kusha participated in Aashish Solanki's Pretty Good Roast Show on YouTube, in which stand-up comedians like Samay Raina cracked extremely below the belt jokes about her.