Some YouTubers never learn.
The India-based creator Sumit Verma is reportedly under investigation by Delhi police after a prank video — in which he approaches random women on the street, kisses them, and then runs away — subsequently spawned well-deserved outrage on social media. Police are also urging victims to file complaints, the BBC reports.
British YouTube creator Sam Pepper faced a similar controversy back in 2014, when he uploaded a video that showcased sexual assault under the guise of a prank. That video featured Pepper groping women, which he blamed on a fake hand he happened to be carrying around. Pepper was subsequently blacklisted from the YouTube community as a result of the incident, and has yet to reclaim his former standing all these years later.
Verma, who counts over 150,000 subscribers on his Crazy Sumit channel — which is dedicated to pranks and social experiments — deleted the video after the backlash ensued. He said that he’d made the video “for entertainment and had no intention of hurting anybody” in an apology video that is also no longer available on YouTube, according to the BBC.
“The video has come to Delhi Police’s notice through media,” a police spokesperson told Indian news agency PTI. “We have started the initial technical inquiry. This obscene video is available on Facebook and Youtube links and we are probing this.” Some of Verma’s other videos include standard prankster fare such as What A Girl Want In A Guy (Tips For Boys) and Pregnancy Prank On Mom (Gone Wrong).
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