Raghav Juyal found himself in trouble after a clipping from Dance Deewane 3 went viral on social media. He was the host of the dance reality show judged by Madhuri Dixit, Tushar Kalia and Dharmesh Yelande. After the clipping circulated on social media, people accused him of being racist. In the video, Raghav introduced a contestant named Gunjan Sinha on Dance Deewane 3 with a monologue that included terms like 'momo' and 'chowmein'.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reacted to the viral video and condemned Raghav for being racist. The CM tweeted, "It has come to my notice that a popular reality show host has used racist rhetoric against a young participant from Guwahati. This is shameful and totally unacceptable. Racism has no place in our country and we should all condemn it unequivocally."
Racism!@TheRaghav_Juyal introducing Gunjan Sinha of Assam in #DanceDeewane3 of @ColorsTV with "Momo", "Chinese" and celebs like @remodsouza, @MadhuriDixit have no objection in it.
People of Assam is not Chinese, yet such shows always do racism comments.
When will it stop? pic.twitter.com/cOTA8s8nvy— Ron Bikash Gaurav (@RonBikashGaurav) November 15, 2021
It has come to my notice that a popular reality show host has used racist rhetoric against a young participant from Guwahati. This is shameful and totally unacceptable. Racism has no place in our country and we should all condem it unequivocally.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 16, 2021
Amid heavy trolling, Raghav issued a video statement. The dancer-host revealed in a video on Instagram that Gunjan had told the creative team that she can speak Chinese and had termed it as her talent. Raghav further justified his monologue and said Gunjan would often speak gibberish Chinese. He told that being called racist is affecting his mental health as he is attached to North East for many reasons.
In the video, Raghav said that he has his family and friends in North East. He added that he doesn't only respect people from that region but has stood up for them on multiple occasions. Raghav requested people to watch the entire season and not judge him on the basis of a short clipping.
Raghav further shared a video from Dance Deewane 3 in which Gunjan herself told Madhuri, Tushar and Dharmesh that she can speak Chinese.
(Source: Instagram/Twitter)