Richa Chadha slams Randeep Hooda for making ‘crass, tasteless, casteist’ joke

Actor Richa Chadha has slammed a joke made by Randeep Hooda some years ago, which resurfaced recently online and attracted backlash. In a series of tweets, Richa called the joke ‘despicable’ and ‘casteist’.

Tagged in a tweet along with Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker, and Konkona Sensharma, Richa was asked if she’d condemn the remarks made by Randeep in that resurfaced clip.

She wrote, “It’s a despicable ‘joke’. It’s crass, tasteless and sexist.” In a second tweet, she wrote, “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.”

The 43-second clip from an event organised by a media house in 2012 resurfaced when a Twitter user shared it. On Friday, it was reported that the actor has been removed as the ambassador of Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), United Nation’s environmental treaty.

In a statement posted on its website, CMS said the organisation finds the comments in the video to be “offensive” and Randeep will no longer serve as the ambassador for them. “The CMS Secretariat finds the comments made in the video to be offensive, and they do not reflect the values of the CMS Secretariat or the United Nations,” the statement read. “Mr. Hooda no longer serves as a CMS ambassador,” it added.

The actor was appointed as the CMS Ambassador for Migratory Species in February 2020 for three years.

Also read: Randeep Hooda removed as ambassador of UN environment body over his comment on Mayawati in old video

Recently, actor Munmun Dutta and Yuvika Chaudhary were also criticised for making casteist remarks on the internet. They have both apologised, citing ignorance on their part.

(With PTI inputs)