Kapil Sharma addresses controversy over ‘racist’ comment at Atlee: ‘Explain where I talked about his looks’

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Here is the tweet:

Dear sir, can you pls explain me where n when I talked about looks in this video ? pls don’t spread hate on social media 🙏 thank you. (guys watch n decide by yourself, don’t follow any body’s tweet like a sheep). https://t.co/PdsxTo8xjg

— Kapil Sharma (@KapilSharmaK9) December 17, 2024

During the episode, Kapil subtly cracked a joke about Atlee, asking whether people identify him when they meet him first. Talking about how successful Atlee is as a director, he asked, “But, when you get to meet a star for the first time, do they ask, where is Atlee?”

The director-producer said, “In a way I understood your question. I’ll try to answer. I’m actually very thankful to AR Murugadoss sir because he produced my first film. He asked for a script, but he didn’t see how I was looking or whether I’m capable of it or not. But, he loved my narration. I think the world should see that. We should not judge by appearance. You have to judge by your heart.” A video cut from the episode went viral on social media and the comedian has been facing backlash for his joke.

Atlee made his directorial debut with the 2013 Tamil film Raja Rani, and went on to direct other films such as Theri, Mersal, Bigil, and Jawan. Meanwhile, talking about the film, he turned producer as he co-produced Varun Dhawan’s upcoming film Baby John. The film is an adaptation of his hit film, Theri, with Thalapathy Vijay. Helmed by Kalees, the action drama features Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh and Wamiqa Gabbi in lead roles. The movie will hit the big screen on December 25.