Kusha Kapila says ‘shockingly unkind’ roast ‘dehumanised’ her, answers if she was paid for it: ‘My silence on this seen as cowardice’

Taking to social media, Kusha wrote, “Friends, a recent roast I was a part of has led a lot of my female and queer followers to question why did I sit through something that could have been completely avoided and WITH GOOD REASON. here’s my two cents, it was done in good faith and for a friend. Nobody has been paid (neither comics nor guests) for it. So the argument that people are “being paid big fat cheques to hear their insults” is baseless.”

Kusha’s note further read, “Jokes weren’t shared beforehand (as it’s done in all roast formats in the west) so 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. 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.

“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. Last six months since the episode was shot, I have been a part of various calls and negotiations for every word, every joke, every slur (literal begging has happened). If I hadn’t let the episode go live, I would have been called a coward and a crybaby and a different kind of trolling would have ensued. This has been a huge learning for me too since 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,” Kusha further added in her note.

She also went on to say, “Simultaneously, when you don’t speak, people also choose to believe whatever they want to. So this is me clearing the air as much as I can and advising women artists to have strict riders in place.”

As Kusha concluded her statement she also shared that addressing this took a big load off her. She continued, “This is the third roast of my career technically and I shall never sit for one again lol at least not without knowing what may come for me. The previous two roasts were a wonderful experience. This, too, would have been if all parties involved were aware what may come for them. 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 am glad y’all enjoy the roast. That’s why even I was seated there to enjoy it and have the best time and I did to the best of my capacity until it went too far. 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.”

On the work front, Kusha was last seen in Thank You For Coming. Her next project is a web series called Life Hill Gayi.