'Don't spread hate': Kapil Sharma defends himself amid remarks at Atlee on The Great Indian Kapil Show

Comedian and actor Kapil Sharma has been entertaining viewers with his comic timing on The Kapil Sharma Show for years. After dominating television, he ventured into a new comedy format with The Great Indian Kapil Show on Netflix. However, the show, which lasted only four months, struggled to achieve the same level of success. The first season featured several high-profile guests, including Ranbir Kapoor, Sania Mirza, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal, and Rohit Sharma, among others.

The second season, released two months ago, also saw appearances by Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Rohit Sharma, Narayan Murthy, Sudha Murthy, Zomato's CEO, and his wife. Despite featuring such prominent figures, the show failed to win viewers' praise. In fact, it has drawn criticism for several reasons, including Sunil Grover's uncomfortable one-liners aimed at guests and Kapil's controversial remarks, which included racist comments and body-shaming celebrities on his couch.

On Saturday, Atlee appeared on The Great Indian Kapil Show alongside Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi to promote their film Baby John.

Kapil Sharma slams X user who claimed he insulted Atlee for his looks

During the segment, Kapil asked Atlee, "Has it ever happened that you went to meet a star and they didn't recognize you? Have they asked, 'Where is Atlee?'"

Atlee appeared slightly taken aback by the question but responded graciously, "Sir, in a way I understood your question. I'll try to answer. I am very thankful to AR Murugadoss sir because he produced my first film. He asked for the script, but he didn't judge how I look or whether I am capable of it or not, but he loved my narration."

Atlee continued, "The world should see that. We should not judge by appearance; we should judge by the heart."

While fans praised Atlee for his dignified response, they criticized Kapil for making what they perceived as an insult about the director's appearance. Despite the tension, Varun, Keerthy, and the others were seen laughing, and Atlee continued the episode in a light-hearted manner.

Social media quickly erupted, with many accusing Kapil of shaming Atlee. One user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Kapil Sharma subtly insults Atlee's looks? Atlee responds like a boss: 'Don't judge by appearance, judge by the heart.'"

Kapil responded to the backlash, writing, "Dear sir, can you please explain when and where I talked about looks in this video? Please don't spread hate on social media thank you."

Netizens have mixed responses to Kapila Sharma's alleged racist jibe on Atlee

"Maybe his intention was not that but then he should have framed the question in a much much better way. But all in all, he is a champion of body shaming so not surprising at all," one user wrote.

Another user wrote, "Kapil Sharma may be a nice person otherwise, but he makes racist/sexist/body shaming/homophobic jokes all the time on his show. His silly question to Atlee reflects the fair-skin colour obsession of North Indians".

Singer Chinmayi Sripaada also joined in and wrote, "Will they never stop these crass and racist jibes at his skin colour in the name of 'comedy'? Someone with the amount of influence and clout like Kapil Sharma saying something like this is disappointing and unfortunately, not surprising."

"He didn't insult Atlee's look. He said that he is so young that he doesn't look like a 'typical director'," a user said.

However, Atlee has not yet responded to the ongoing fiasco.