07 July 2024
Hyderabad

Actor Sai Durgha Tej on Sunday came down like a ton of bricks on YouTuber Praneeth Hanumanthu and his friends for making sexual references and jokes about a father and his young daughter during a live session.

The comments by the said YouTuber and his friends have sparked widespread outrage on social media, with clips from the session going viral, drawing outright condemnation from all corners.

From the Telugu film industry, Tej was one of the firsts to have reacted. Visibly upset and disturbed, he wrote, “To whom so ever it may concern, my kind request to all parents is to please use some sort of discretion when you post a video or photos of your kids as the world of social media has become ruthless and dangerous.”

He continued, “Those people who have stooped to such low standards, I hope that you never get to see the turmoil of a parent.”

In another post, he added, “This is beyond gruesome, disgusting and scary. Monsters like these go unnoticed on the very much utilized social platform doing child abuse in the disguise of so-called Fun & Dank. Child Safety is the need of the hour. I sincerely request Hon'ble Chief Minister of Telangana @revanth_anumala...Hon'ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh @ncbn Garu & Deputy CM @PawanKalyan Garu...to take necessary action to curb horrific acts like this in the future.”

Swiftly reacting to Tej’s concerns, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy posted, "Thank you for bringing to our notice this issue @IamSaiDharamTej garu. Child safety is utmost priority for our Govt. Will look into this incident and take appropriate action.”

Taking notice of the matter, the Telangana State Cybersecurity Bureau has filed an FIR. Telangana's Director General of Police, Ravi Gupta, wrote on X, “Addressing the inappropriate comments on a child, an FIR has been filed with @TGCyberBureau, and strict actions will follow. We are committed to protecting all citizens, especially children. Offenders misusing social media for humor will face justice, and our team @TelanganaCOPs is diligently identifying them. Telangana Govt @TelanganaCMO and Police will intensify efforts to raise awareness about #ChildSafety and responsible social media use.”

On the other hand, following the outrage, Praneeth has tendered an apology and requested the internet to leave his family out while they 'rage' at him. “Edited out the problematic part from the video. Unconditionally and unambiguously apologetic about the lapse in judgement. As a creator, my attempt is always to put a smile. Unfortunately, this time I have crossed the line between what is dark and what is distasteful.

“Rage out on me all you can, but pls leave my family out of this. They don't deserve this. I couldn't be a best son to them, but they are definitely the best parents a child could have gotten,” he posted.