Roast Comedy And Boundaries: Kusha Kapila's Roast About Her Divorce
Indian influencer and actor Kusha Kapila made headlines recently after clips from comedian Ashish Solanki’s roast went viral. Reacting to the jokes, Kusha expressed that she felt “straight up dehumanised” following jokes made on her body and her recent divorce.
Solanki’s Pretty Good Roast Show on YouTube, which was shot in January and released in June, has amassed over 13 million views. With a panel of stand-up comedians such as Solanki, Gurleen Pannu, Aditya Kulshreshtha (aka Kullu), Shreya Priyam, and Samay Raina, the guest for the roast was Kusha.
However, what started as usual roast with hard-hitting jokes soon descended into jokes about her divorce with Zorawar Ahluwalia, her weight loss, and more. While the segment continued, most of what Samay said was muted and bleeped out with a disclaimer, “Some jokes had to be removed because we were not ready for them.”
Addressing the “shockingly unkind” jokes, Kusha released a statement on YouTube. Dismissing arguments where people accused her of “being paid big fat cheques to hear their insults,” Kusha said that the roast was done in “good faith” and no one, including comics or guests, was paid.
Calling it a “rookie mistake,” the influencer said that if she knew what was in store for her, she would have asked for the jokes or script beforehand but didn’t since the roast involved friends.
Kusha also pointed out that her episode was the first episode to be shot (January) in the series and that “everyone had fair bit of learnings post shoot which is why in other episodes, boundaries have not been crossed, especially with women.”
“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,” said the 33-year-old content creator.
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Notably, this is the third roast Kusha has been part of. While she describes the previous two roasts as a “wonderful experience,” she vowed to “never sit for one again, not without knowing what may come for me.”
Sharing her learnings post the shooting of the video, Kusha highlighted that she has been particular about “every word, every joke, every slur (literal begging has happened).” She also pointed out that if she had not let the episode go live, then she would be called a “coward” and a “crybaby” and that a “different kind of trolling would have ensued.”
Describing the experience as a “huge learning,” the actor shared that since the past six months she had been told that she ‘deserves’ these jokes and that as a divorced woman she “should have seen this coming.”
Since Kusha and Zorawar announced their divorce on June 26, the influencer has been on the receiving end of rampant jokes and hate speech, many declaring her a “gold digger” and questioning her character. While both the now separated couple co-parent their dog and continue to share a good friendship with each other, Kusha continues to be subjected to misogynist jokes.
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“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. Simultaneously, when you don’t speak, people also choose to believe whatever they want to,” Kusha said.
Ending her statement, the content creator said, “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.”
While several users expressed their solidarity with Kusha, others praised her patience to sit through the roast with dignity. A debate about the thin line between a ‘roast comedy’ and an ‘attack’ opened up with many questioning why Kusha had become the target for criticism instead of the individuals who made the jokes.
