When you are a public figure in the age of the internet, you are never really free from scrutiny and being called out – even if it is about something you said years ago. A clip of actor Randeep Hooda making a ‘casteist’ joke back in 2012 has resurfaced online and has landed the actor in a pickle – having him removed as an ambassador of a convention part of the United Nations to having his colleague and actress Richa Chadha condemn him for his ‘crass’ joke.
The short clip was from an event organised by a media house. Sharing the same, Twitter users tagged Richa, along with other actresses like Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker and Konkona Sensharma. The tweet asked if Richa condemns such remarks. She replied to it, saying she does and said, “It’s a despicable ‘joke’. It’s crass, tasteless and sexist.”
Adding to it, she caught on to the fact that the tweet had only tagged women and questioned them saying:
Yes. It’s casteist too. Also, plz explain to the reason why you continue to ask ONLY women to apologise for their male colleagues while you pontificate on sexism. Not holding my breath.
Post this video resurfacing online, the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), United Nation’s environmental treaty, removed Randeep as their ambassador. A statement in the CMS website states that the organisation felt that Randeep’s comments were ‘offensive’ and ‘don’t reflect the values of the CMS Secretariat or the United Nations’.
Randeep was last seen in Salman Khan‘s film, Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, where he played the antagonist. He was also actively sharing resources and helping people amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.