Two AIB members stand accused of sexual misconduct and harassment respectively.
Comedy group All India Backchod (AIB) on Monday ended its association with Tanmay Bhat and sent Gursimran Khamba on leave of absence in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment, respectively. The AIB statement issued a statement, saying, “We cannot overlook Tanmay’s role and in light of this, he will be stepping away from his association with AIB until further notice.”
A 22-year-old woman has called out Tanmay Bhat. After revealing that they consensually sexted first, she wrote on Twitter, “Tanmay Bhat texts me whenever he’s horny, when I don’t want to entertain he says he’s sorry I acted like a fuckboi. But eventually does it again.”
Gursimran Khamba, who was also accused by a woman through an anonymous account, will go on a temporary leave of absence.
The AIB statement said, “We have also been appraised of the allegations against Gursimran Khamba on social media. At this point of time, these allegations pertain to a private matter, and he has released a statement of his own about the same. However, as an organisation, we believe it would be prudent to place Gursimran Khamba on a temporary leave of absence until we have more clarity on the matter.”
Statement pic.twitter.com/KR5tM2sYuX
— All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) October 8, 2018
Khamba’s accuser had alleged that after hooking up consensually a couple of times, he tried to force her into having sex with him. “He later realised he had feelings for me, I was dating someone at this point. This led to drunk calls, threats to ruin friendships, emotional blackmail and (emotional) abuse that went on for 5 months,” she wrote.
She also wrote she was sick of his “hypocrisy that allows him to be on every f***ing panel and press con and podcast and woke ass show and video being lauded as a smart, level-headed woke f***ing dude.”
Gursimran Khamba, meanwhile, has issued an apology. Taking to Instagram, Khamba said while he is aware of the person who has stated the incidents, he will not disclose her identity. He also agreed that they had hooked up consensually, but went on to deny that he was ever forceful.
The stand-up comedian also said after she was in a relationship with someone else, he had begun to have feelings for her and felt angry and rejected and did not behave appropriately. He further said, “It had become a toxic relationship and I’d like to apologise unconditionally for it like I had done in the past. That behaviour was extremely uncalled for. She rightly stopped talking to me.” He ended the note by saying he is sorry for his bad behaviour and “all the hurt it caused her but I categorically deny any violation of consent.”