Comedian Vir Das stood up on Sunday because of his recent insulting joke to the transgender community that he “messed it up.” Vir Das was criticized for a joke that obviously made fun of gender pronouns and inappropriately talked about transgender people.
This joke is part of the latest episode of #TenOnTen Tribalism and Cancel Culture vs Comedy on YouTube. Author Gazal Dhaliwal and designer Saisha Shinde have previously expressed their dissatisfaction with Das.
For Amaan. Thankyou for this conversation. pic.twitter.com/AWtPx5kxWd
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) August 15, 2021
The comedian finally responded to the criticism in a statement on his Twitter page. When he signed, he wrote: “For you, Amaan. Thank you for the conversation” he refers to a fan who is non-binary and was hurt by Das’s joke and says that it left a “deep impression” on the community.
“I did a joke on the new ten on ten-episode that my friends in the Trans community felt hurt by. I see why. My intent at the moment was to say Trans people have the courage the Govt never ever could and it was set up wrong and uninformed. I messed up. It had the opposite effect and trivialized your struggle. Articulating my intent effectively is my responsibility, not yours,” read an excerpt from the statement.
Das said that he wanted to offer no justification about the joke that was “wrong. Plain and simple.” “No buts. Sometimes (a lot of) people are upset because the joke really worked, sometimes because the joke doesn’t. My audience understands comedy, they can take a joke. So when they talk to me, I listen,” he further wrote.
View this post on Instagram
The comedian also attached two screenshots of his conversation with his follower, Amaan. “I’m a queer individual who identifies as non-binary. I see your reaction to the calling out of your mistakes and I feel like someone has to call you in, instead. When you feel like you’re being attacked, it’s very easy to get defensive and reactionary. You of all people know punching up is how comedy works, and yet you chose to punch down, if only as a setup. I hope you understand,” Amaan wrote, signing off as “your slightly hurt fan”.
In his reply to Amaan, Das apologized to him and assured him that he would issue a statement, acknowledging his mistake. “You’re correct about the joke, and I’m so sorry it made you feel hurt. I’m going to put a statement out, but waiting till everyone calms down so they know it’s thought out and genuine. If you know my work, you know the intent is never ever to hurt. Give it a minute and I will definitely respond,” Das had responded at the time.
