New Delhi:
Recently, Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul graced the couch of popular chat show on Indian television Koffee With Karan 6. The episode instantly became the talk of the town after Pandya’s remarks over women drew the ire from social media users, terming it ‘misogynistic’ and ‘racist’.
Recently, Karan Johar opened up about the on-going controversy in an interview with ET Now saying that the controversy has now gone into a zone where damage control isn’t possible.
"I have to say that I feel very responsible because it was my show, it was my platform. I invited them as guests and so the ramifications and repercussion of the show are my responsibility. I have had so many so many sleepless nights, wondering about how I can undo this damage, who is gonna listen to me. It's now gone into a zone which is beyond my control."
“The questions I asked to the two boys are the questions I ask everyone including women. When Deepika and Alia were on the show, I have asked them the same. I have no control over the answers that come my way. I have a control room of 16 to 17 girls. The show Koffee With Karan is entirely run by woman, I’m the only man there. None of them came up. Some thought he was wild, he was crazy, he’s crack, he’s mad. They said he’s funny. No one came and told me it was inappropriate, maybe you should reflect on it.†Said Karan.
The 46-year-old filmmaker rubbished the reports of doing it for the TRP’s. He said, “It’s not about my career, It’s theirsâ€.
“Perhaps things crossed boundaries, I apologise since it was my platform. I suppose that the boys have paid the price for it already.â€
Karan Johar breaks his silence for the 1st time post Hardik Pandya & KL Rahul controversy on his #KoffeeWithKaran show. Full interview #ComingUp only on ET NOW. Stay tuned! #Davos @karanjohar @SupriyaShrinate @hardikpandya7 @klrahul11 #WEF2019 @wef pic.twitter.com/HERG69Jq5r
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) January 23, 2019
After getting backlash for his comments which are being tagged as racist and sexist on social media, Hardik took to Instagram and posted an apology. Following the controversy, Hardik along with KL Rahul has been suspended from the ODI series against Australia. Both the cricketers are also facing two-match ban and the board has also asked them to return India from the series against Australia. The move comes after Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji said that the duo should be suspended until further course of action is taken.
Pandya had taken to Twitter to apologise for his remarks and apparently, he has also expressed ‘regret’ over the comments when he responded to the show-cause notice. The all-rounder has said the mistake will not be repeated in the future.
Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket team skipper, criticised the comments and said the Indian cricket team do not stand by those comments.Â
The situation came into light with this one conversation when Johar was asking questions about not asking women’s name in a night club and what do men talk about. To this, Pandya replied, “I like to watch and observe how they (women) move. I'm little from the black side so I need to see how they move." Pandya also boasted about how he casually discussed his sex life with his parents. “When I lost my virginity, I came home and said, 'Main karke aya hai aaj (I had sex today)'. At a party my parents asked me 'acha tera wala (women) kaun sa hai [who is your interest here?] so I said yeh, yeh, yeh (pointing out women)' and they were like 'waah proud of you beta',†Pandya replied with laughter.
