Kartikeya apologizes for collaborating with YouTuber who made controversial joke on child abuse:' I should not have been part of it' - See post

The uproar surrounding YouTuber Praneeth Hanumantu has reached new heights as Tollywood star Kartikeya issued a heartfelt apology amidst mounting backlash on social media.
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On July 8, Kartikeya took to his Twitter account to voice his stance on the unfolding controversy. In his tweet, the actor emphasized the importance of constructive criticism and lighthearted humor.He wrote, “Not just in this one case, but I feel that cracking such demeaning jokes on others has become a trend these days, claiming themselves to be cool/new age. They are doing that because many of us are encouraging such content, and they are going on and on, reaching up to this level. From here on, let's not encourage such content. While constructive criticism and healthy jokes are good, this kind of demeaning thing will only set us back as a society. Instead of focusing on how to pull each other down, let's focus on growing individually and helping others grow. I strongly condemn not just this one particular joke, but also all those insensitive and demeaning comments used by anyone.”

However, netizens pointed out Kartikeya's past collaboration with Praneeth, questioning his consistency in condemning the YouTuber.
Soon after, Kartikeya addressed his past collaboration with the YouTuber and mentioned, “Yes, I have given an interview to them. But it was part of my movie promotion, like how I give interviews to all other channels before a movie release. Frankly, I was a bit shocked by the questions then, but I didn't want to make a scene, so I tried my best to be as sportive as possible. Like I mentioned in my previous tweet, I had this opinion from before but voicing it out now using this situation. And yes, I should not have been part of it. I had to do the interview as one of the job responsibilities as a lead actor trying to make his film reach a wider audience, but I had no intentions of encouraging such content. Sadly, I had to be part of it, and I feel bad for that. From now on, I will be really careful about who I am giving interviews to, and let's all together not encourage such content. Hope everyone understands. Thank you🙏🙏.”

Meanwhile, Sai Dharam Tej recently raised concerns over a controversial joke involving children made by YouTuber Praneeth Hanumantu. He shared the video's inappropriate comments involving a father and daughter. Actors including Manchu Manoj and Nara Rohith requested authorities to take stringent action for child safety and tagged Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Chief Ministers, along with officials from Texas and the US Embassy in India for action.
In response to Sai Dharam's post, the Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau filed an FIR against Praneeth. Telangana's Chief Minister Revanth Reddy acknowledged the severity of the issue, with the state's DGP assuring updates on the investigation.