Comedian Rohan Joshi's number, address leaked; Vir Das gets threats after Agrima Joshua-Shivaji joke row

Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, July 15

After comedian Agrime Joshua was targeted by trolls and goons following a political outcry against an old joke, comedian across the country have been on the receiving end of bitter trolling, abuse and threats.  

Joshua was trolled, abused and given rape threats for an old clip in which she cracks a joke regarding the yet to be built a statue of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea, based on what people were saying about it on Quora.

Due to the incessant trolling, Joshua took down the clip and apologised for hurting religious sentiments. But the hate campaign refused to die down.

The hate has spread amongst other comedians. 

Comedian and former member of AIB, Rohan Joshi, took to Instagram to announce that he will be going offline for a few days after his personal details were leaked. 

"Going offline for a few days. Number and address have been leaked online so the past few days have a circus of abuse and threats, 2 am phone calls and anxious spirals," Joshi posted on his Instagram profile.

"I'm sorry if I've offended anyone with my words, and I apologise without any qualifications and reservations for any words that I may have spoken that hurt someone's religious sentiments," he continued.

He ended the note on a plea to trolls. "Please leave my family alone".

Comedian Vir Das shared a message on similar lines. He posted the message on the microblogging website that the last couple of days have been hard on all the comedians, inlcuding himeslf. 

The comedian started facing abuse after trolls dug up old clips of the artists, claiming he had made fun of Shivaji as well as Hindu religion. 

"In the last 24 hours. Myself and every comic I have spoken to, male and female have had threats, abusive messages, and all sorts of filth. It's literally all of us going "yeah...same". Hang in there. Stay strong," Das wrote on Twitter.

Comedians such as Sumukhi Suresh and Abish Mathew have also shared their outrage against the targeting of comedians.

The incidences of violence and online abuse increased after  trolls found old clips of comedian Agrima Joshua.  YouTuber Shubham Mishra was recently arrested for publishing a rape threat and incitement to violence against the comedian.