Why Apoorva Mukhija faces online backlash after India’s Got Latent

This panel on India's Got Latent had five people, four men and a woman. They made jokes and passed statements, which hurt some sentiments. But only one of them received rape threats after the episode aired. And that was Apoorva Makhija, the only woman on the panel. Let me explain what happened.

In February 2025, Apoorva Makhija, also known as the Rebelcade, appeared on stand-up comedian Sameer Raina's YouTube show, India's Got Latent. The show that Sameer described as an unnecessary reality show featured people from across India who showcased their talent in 90 seconds. A panel of judges, who'd be YouTubers and celebrities, rated the performances and the winner would win a cash prize. Sometimes, the judges would roast the contestants and fellow judges.

This is where Apoorva comes in, who was one of the creators on the panel. Apoorva became popular for her rants, skits, and travel videos, amassing millions of followers. She ranked 8th on Forbes Top 100 Digital Stars in 2024. She was born and raised in Delhi, and her videos, characterized by outspokenness, became popular during the COVID lockdown. But she was often scrutinized and she said she was slut-shamed and judged on the internet.

In January 2025, a group of boys heckled her at a Delhi Technical University programme by shouting the name of her ex-boyfriend and questioning her for criticizing a YouTuber who she said roasted her. She later posted this video to explain her side. Apoorva said that she'd never cried in front of the world and if you're a woman, you cannot cry, otherwise you're playing the sympathy card.

A few days after this, Apoorva appeared on the India's Got Latent episode alongside creators such as Ranbir Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani. While this episode got the maximum heat for a question Ranbir posed to a contestant, Apoorva also faced flak for some of her comments on it. One of her comments was a response to a man who asked, "Is there no sensation in your vagina?" She responded by saying, "Have you ever seen one after leaving your mother's?"

But the criticism against her took the shape of rape and death threats, a pattern that women have repeatedly faced on social media. Women are often subjected to rape threats and even doxxing by people who disagree with them. On social media, it's not just jokes that result in women getting rape threats. Anonymous users and others use it to respond to women's political opinions, choice of clothes, and other actions.

For example, in 2022, men on a live audio app, Clubhouse, issued rape threats against women who expressed their political opinions on it. In 2024, actor Mimi Chakraborty said rape threats have been normalized while highlighting some of the comments and messages she received for sharing posts protesting the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RGKAR Medical College and Hospital.

In the same case, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said his female colleagues were getting rape threats for representing the West Bengal government in court. But rape threats are not just limited to social media. A real-life incident transpired in Bengaluru in 2024 when a man accosted a woman driver in a road rage incident. She said he'd told her that he'd rape and kill her entire family if she shared the video of him that she had recorded.

In some of the screenshots of the alleged threats to Apoorva, people could be seen referencing her remarks on India's Got Latent. She was one of the 30 people, including Ranveer and Sameer, as well as the organisers of India's Got Latent, against whom police complaints were filed for the use of abusive language, promoting obscenity, and engaging in sexually explicit and vulgar discussion.

In Apoorva's case, a section of social media users opposed the rape threats targeting her by tracking down the people who were issuing these threats and flagging their behavior to their families and colleges. Rape threats can be reported on the respective social media platform as well as on the national cybercrime portal cybercrime.gov.in or even at a local police station.

According to section 79 of the Bharatiya Nihai Sanhita, anyone who, in order to outrage a woman's modesty, utters any words, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object in any form, can be sent to jail for up to three years and a fine. But it isn't clear if complaints against rape threats have ended in conclusive legal decisions so far.

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