Netflix has been asked to remove an episode of The Big Bang Theory over an “offensive” joke branding an actress a “leprous prostitute”.
The streaming giant has allegedly been served a legal notice over the “derogatory” remark from Indian political analyst, Mithun Vijay Kumar.
It’s all to do with a scene in which Jim Parsons’ character Sheldon Cooper and Kunal Nayyar’s Raj Koothrapalli are discussing Indian actresses Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit.
READ MORE: Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons’ love life – co-star romance and coming out fears
In the first episode of season two, ‘The Bad Fish Paradigm’, aired in September 2008, Sheldon calls Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai a “poor man’s Madhuri Dixit”.
Raj responds: “Aishwarya Rai is a goddess, by comparison, Madhuri Dixit is a leprous prostitute.”
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
Leprosy, a potentially devastating disease with negative connotations linked to historical references, is endemic in several states and union territories of India.
Kumar says that the comments made about the Bollywood star are “offensive and derogatory” and has asked Netflix’s Indian arm to remove the episode.
He wrote on Twitter: “I found it highly derogatory and offensive towards Indian culture and women.
“So I asked my lawyer to send a legal notice to Netflix, requesting that they remove the episode from their platform.”
(Image: Getty Images)
He added that failure to remove the episodes will “result in legal action” for “promoting sexism and discrimination against women”.
Actress and MP of Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan, told The Times of India that Kunal Nayyar is “insane”.
She added that the actor needs “to be sent to mental asylum,” and his family should be asked what they think of his comment.
But the political analyst and Sabha have faced an abundance of backlash over the remarks made almost 15 years ago.
(Image: @MVJonline/Twitter)
One angry Tweeter replied: “So the episode came out in 2008. Dude got triggered in the year 2023.”
Another added: “This is absolutely ridiculous, you need to grow up man. Take down this post, before the whole world laughs at us.”
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
The Big Bang Theory had a successful run from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019.
The sitcom focused on “socially awkward physicists” starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik among others.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
