‘I know why Indians are out of shape’: American tourist sparks debate after calling Indians ‘lazy’ at Jaipur’s Amber Fort

The tourist, Charlie Evans, filmed himself during his walk down the steep approach to the fort and used the moment to label Indians as “lazy” and “out of shape”.

3 min readNew DelhiFeb 4, 2026 05:38 PM IST

In the clip, Evans points to groups of visitors who had stopped midway through the climb

An American traveller’s video from Jaipur has kicked up a storm online after he made sweeping remarks about Indians while visiting the Amber Fort. The tourist, identified as Charlie Evans, filmed himself during his walk down the steep approach to the fort and used the moment to label Indians as “lazy” and “out of shape”.

In the clip, Evans points to groups of visitors who had stopped midway through the climb, some resting, chatting, or having cigarettes and drinks. Using these scenes to generalise, he claims this behaviour explains why, in his view, people weren’t willing to finish the climb. “I know why Indians are out of shape,” he says in the video, adding that although “there are thousands of people down there”, very few actually made it to the top. He goes on to remark, “They’re paying to get in, and then they’re stuck halfway up… They’re lazy.”

Doubling down, Evans insists the scene proves a point he says he made earlier in the day. “At the beginning of this journey today, I said that Indians are lazy, and this just proves it,” he says, describing people “having cigarettes and cokes and chais halfway up the Amber Fort road” and concluding that “they don’t want to go the extra mile”.

Watch the video:

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A post shared by Charlie Evans (@charlietravelusa)

The video has crossed 4 lakh views on Instagram and sparked a barrage of reactions. Some Instagram users echoed his observations, arguing that fitness often takes a backseat in everyday life. One commenter joked, “Indian will not climb a hill untill there’s temple located on hill top,” while another Indian user admitted, “You are right. None of my friends are interested in coming with me for cycling at 6am on a weekdnd.” A third wrote, “I am feeling bad what you saying. But it’s true.”

Others strongly pushed back, calling the remarks shallow and unfair. “They don’t bother about the destination. They are enjoying the journey,” one person countered. Another pointed out that Evans was judging a narrow slice of people, writing, “You are just seeing 2% of urban populations… you have not met the locals who do this hike long before ppl wake up everyday. Their fitness is unmatchable.”