AIB founders Tanmay Bhat and Gursimran Khamba are distancing themselves from the comedy group, which has been battling allegations of sexual harassment against its members, the company announced Monday.
While Mr. Bhat has come under attack for his inaction in the complaints against writer-comedian Utsav Chakraborty, Mr. Khamba has been directly accused of sexual misconduct.
The future of the group — which also includes Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya and became popular for its ‘roasts’ and satires — faces an uncertain future, said Vidhi Jotwani, HR head at AIB. In a late night development, Hotstar announced on Twitter, “we are cancelling the production of On Air with AIB Season 3 with immediate effect.” “Truthfully, we don’t know what this means for the future of AIB or whether there is one. In the interim, Ashish Shakya, Rohan Joshi and other senior team members will work towards being able to answer that question over the next several months,” Ms. Jotwani said in a statement.
Mr. Khamba, who has been accused by a woman of misconduct, has issued a separate statement denying “any violation of consent”.