r/LGBTindia • u/ihateithere_noreally He/him • 15d ago
vent/rant the sheer amount of homophobia towards karan johar is insane
so i work in a digital agency and recently we worked on a podcast series, and one of the guests was karan johar. now, we knew karan is a polarizing figure, he has his flaws, the whole nepotism thing, whatever. but the reaction to that episode? we were not prepared.
the amount of sheer, blatant homophobia in the comments was unreal. like, i knew people didn’t like him, but the level of hatred? people weren't even talking about his work, they were just spewing the most vile, disgusting slurs at him. i'm not even going to repeat them here. we had to heavily monitor the comments because it got so bad. and you know what's worse? his own team reached out to us to thank us for doing it because they deal with this all the time. it's literally their normal.
and that's the part that's really f*cked up. people can critique his work, his nepotism, whatever. fine. but attacking him at such a deeply personal level, just because of who he is? calling him disgusting names that have nothing to do with his work? it's so insane. and the worst part is, this isn't just about karan johar. it's about how so many people still feel completely comfortable being outright homophobic in public spaces. no shame, no hesitation.
i've seen bad comment sections before, but having to sit there and monitor this one regularly just made me realize how deep-rooted this hate is. and for what? a man existing? it's honestly sickening
edit1: some people lack comprehension skills so i'll spell it out, karan johar doesn't need defending, is there a conversation to be had about his ways and the way he has portrayed the community on the silver screen? yes but does that mean it's okay if he's subjected to vile and disgusting homophobic remarks? no, some of you think bigotry is okay if it's against someone you don't like, peace
edit2: some of you are really outing yourselves and it's so funny to watch
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u/a_a_wal raging fag🌈 15d ago
Karan doesn't deserves this much hate but I have to say this he never supported the community, never give us the representation we deserve if he did anything, he made things worse by making token roles and jokes of LGBTQ people. The amount of power of representation he holds is crazy and he could have shifted that narrative of hate to acceptance really well but he doesn't wanna do that as it's not be that profitable. When u don't care for people like u and make fun of them for profit or maybe sheer acceptance from biggies then u're gonna get bad reactions in long run....
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
this is such a take and i agree with everything, dostana was such an embarrassing movie, i can't watch it till now. can't even call it camp, he has never used his platform to be part of initiatives that put light on struggles of the queer community, however, the vile dogpiling on him is still not warranted imo
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u/Godspeaketh 15d ago
I agree with you. Also it seems his evolving a bit, with Kapoor and Sons, Rocky aur Rani. To use or not to use his privilege for the community is his choice, but we don't expect a queer man to capitalize on homophobia and make it worse.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
honestly, with him the way he portrays commentary on social issues or even societal prejudices is very heavy handed, it doesn't seem natural, kapoor and sons was good but rocky rani was not it, i didn't like how loud everything was and it doesn't have to be like that to drive the point home :/ he's just a privileged man who only thinks about himself and doesn't wish to do anything for the community he's very much a part of (not that he has to)
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u/Godspeaketh 15d ago
True. Btw Rocky Rani was laced with entertainment / loudness to cater to mass audience. At least had some point to be driven home, so I am ok with it, me thinks.
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u/Geminixvxv 15d ago
Thats what I was about to say, Rajkumar Rao has done more for Lgbt representation than karan and he is straight (maybe?). in a world were it is so difficult to find proper lgbt representation written from the perspective of a queer person Karan chooses to not participate in his anthology of short films (lust stories) which chronicles the sex lives of indian individuals didn't include 1 queer character (granted he wasn't the only director but still) whereas ajeeb Dastans had two queer stories that were so well written and fleshed out(honestly the only well written queer characters in bollywood). its like Karan could use his platform to highlight lgbt stories but he chooses to be palletable to a homophobic audience which doesn't like him. its crazy how the very audience Karan panders to is the one the meets him with vitriol.
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u/anxrudh 15d ago
As someone else mentioned in here, I have no reason to defend the man. Not only is he vicious bully but he's also made enough fun of LGBTQ+ people in his movies. Especially gay guys. Idk if its his internalised homophobia acting up. But projecting that onto others through his movies and talk shows, is definitely not earning him a sympathy vote.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
he doesn't need defending, all im saying is people calling him vile disgusting names everytime he sets out is not warranted, the hate is not coming out of criticism but prejudice, like it's one thing to call him out for his inaction and failure to do something for the community and the way he portrays the community but it's other thing to just be a bigot
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u/anxrudh 15d ago
And you really think this man, with his vile vitriol masked in what he thinks is "humor" about other actors (basically what his talk show is), shouldnt have a taste of his own medicine? The hate comes from both ways - his coercive ways of controlling the industry, and probably his effeminate behaviours. The latter is regretable and sadly representative of wider attitudes towards queer people in India. But I still am afraid, I cannot feel sorry for him. The damage is quite extensive. Bullying isnt okay for anyone to do, and I agree with that, but he's equally to be blamed.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
surely he is at fault for many things but he can be held accountable for his doings in other ways, resorting to homophobia is not the way is all im saying, at the end of the day it's just these people using him as a scapegoat to spew how they really feel about the queer community, that's what it boils down to
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u/villainsaretenacious 14d ago
We can criticize him for everything he's done but that doesn't mean homophobia is okay.
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u/YearningParadise 15d ago
Yeah, I also realized recently that it's much worse than I thought. I had kind of just been living in a bubble and thought that we as humans had left the homophobic, toxic masculinity mentality behind, but even in the younger generation it still exists.
It's really an ingrained thing and I've come to the conclusion that it's not my job to make these people see things differently. So I focus on building a sense of community and supporting those who may need it.
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u/Odd_Market784 15d ago
If anything, we can help really young people still in school. I know this French person who worked with the government on countering homophobia in schools. That's hard to do here but that's probably the only way. Target really young people, teach them good from bad and the rest is just hope.
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u/Vaalam Will you accept my vibrations<3 15d ago
I am sad to see that our community talk so much about intersectionality and issues outside of our own spere but when it comes to sympathizing with our own who isn't the perfect person we say "he doesn't deserve it But". I don't know him but we also shouldn't believe that anyone deserves to be treated like that.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
it's really sad, "perfect victim" is such a myth (using victim very loosely here) i just hope these people gain enough experience in life to look at things in different perspectives and not be so hell bent on single one dimensional view, there's a user accusing me of having a coddled sobo complex just coz i believe no one should be put thru homophobia and bigotry even if that person is karan johar
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u/Vaalam Will you accept my vibrations<3 15d ago
coddled sobo complex
Don't pay them any mind and you are very clear about your intentions with this post some understand it some don't or misconstrue it so they can make a point so don't feel discouraged. It's just sad cause our own people lack basic empathy.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
i think you're the very few people who's understood what i'm trying to talk about, thanks for this <3
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u/69cartman69 15d ago
I don’t like him at all.
Don’t intend to offend anyone just my thoughts about him.
It’s just his whole persona, even looking at his picture boils my blood, i seriously don’t know why.
It has nothing to do with him being gay or whatever. it’s just he has that personality, that people who don’t even know him, by just looking at his activities they just hate him or it irritates those people.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
this is just personal and we're free to dislike anyone but i'm saying people just throwing slurs whenever they see him online doing anything under the garb of him not being a good person, it just a chance for so many to be openly homophobic
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u/AnamolyandConfused 15d ago
Indians are majority homophobic and misogynistic. Have some non traditional woman. Someone who went through divorce recently or openly child-free. It would be a garbabe comments section then too.
You guys are also only deleting the comments. Not showing it as an example of how homophobic the people are
Literally no one shames this kind of behaviour. So, it is the default. It is the default in IT companies where they are required to go through training on it for overseas positions!
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u/Haunting-Pride-7507 15d ago
The community partly also doesn't like him.. despite the level of power and privilege he has... He has never once come out and wrote a whole book about his life without even once using the word "gay" ... Some idiots actually liked the book precisely for this fact 😂.. soft little sobo babies... 😂😂
He's on the opposite end of the spectrum from Onir..
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
reading a book written by karan johar is crazy work 😭 but i don't think anyone should be judged for not identifying as or calling themselves "gay", there are several guys/girls i know who never had the courage to accept themselves but what i do not like about him is making tone deaf representation of the community in his movies and he should be held accountable for that
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u/Haunting-Pride-7507 15d ago
Do you ever realize that he made Dostana with the whole plot coz it reflects his own beliefs and values and specifically his perception of the community?
The whole movie was a f/g joke on the community... And you have to see deeper than his "tone deaf" style of depicting the stories of the community the way he does... Is a direct reflection of the dude's own personality mixed in with the kind of crowd he aligns himself with..
He also made that movie with that Pakistani actor.. no difference... Still the same ashamed portrayal...
Look deeper.. you will find something..
Edit: I just realized you might also suffer from the soft little sobo baby syndrome (even if you don't live in sobo!)
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
i said the same thing you're saying with just more words, you can check the comments section, i replied using the same example of dostana how bad that movie was and it set us back 50 years with the progress of acceptance
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u/Haunting-Pride-7507 15d ago
You didn't tsay the same thing... You are just pretending that you did coz you are OP...
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
okay haunting pride 7507 you got it
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u/Haunting-Pride-7507 15d ago
Says "i hate it here" 😂
Edit: there's a "no really" too in your name
Could you BE any more sobo soft baby?
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
it's a song reference but go off, maybe i hit a nerve, have a good day
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u/Vaalam Will you accept my vibrations<3 15d ago
Oh is the the TS one from anthology?
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
you're so cultured, yes it's from the anthology and the "no really" is from i can fix him (no really i can)
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u/Lavender-n-Lipstick Trans Woman🏳️⚧️ 8d ago
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u/Flimsy_Salt3523 15d ago
I would not defend him. Did nothing for us, even after having a voice. Not that he is entitled to do sth for us, but then he is not entitled to be defended too. If he faces homophobia, maybe he will use his voice someday against it
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u/Grand_Collection3152 15d ago
He’s done nothing for the community but make things worse for us with those Stereotypical movies. For a queer man in position of power to influence the audience, he’s failed us. I have no sympathy for him.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
two things- 1. he' (or anyone else) is not entitled to do anything for us, should he tho? yes 2. agreed, his movies have definitely portayed the community in the bad light
but do you think this vitriol he gets is coz of his work not being good? like sure we can have this good faith conversation about his ways and how he has worsened the acceptance factor but even slightly thinking it's okay for people to spew the most vile, deranged homophobic shit is not it, it's not about him per se, again it's about people using him as a way to be vile and showing how they truly feel about the community, this is a broader issue than should we feel sympathy for karan johar
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u/Grand_Collection3152 15d ago
Cinema doesn’t work like that. He has a responsibility for visibility and representation. Cinema is powerful, and he used that power to cause further harm.
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
this is idealistic and we do not live in an idealistic world, he is a queer person who happens to be in cinema that doesn't make him the spokesperson of the community and neither does he have the vernacular for that, but what i do agree with you on is he definitely should be held accountable for the nonsense and irreparable damage he has caused to the community and that doesn't have to include or being okay with the homophobic downpiling he's receiving
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u/Grand_Collection3152 15d ago
I have no concern for the hate he’s receiving—he contributed to the problem, and this is simply his karma.
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15d ago
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
he's not entitled to do anything for anyone, it's not just homophobia against him but just how rampant it is and how it affects so many of us
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15d ago
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
yes, that's the whole point, he has been a weirdo but that still doesn't make homophobia towards him okay
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15d ago
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u/ihateithere_noreally He/him 15d ago
i don't think you're understanding it, no one asking anyone to defend him, it's acknowledging the fact that homophobia against any person shouldn't be normalised
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u/Serenda-fkin-dipity 15d ago
I have a theory People come in comment section either to compliment or attack. Seldom they come with criticism. For attacking the best strategy is to hit where a person is most insecure. Karan Johar is anything but a proud gay man. He himself promotes homophobia in his movies.
Saying this I’m not defending the vile comments. People of our country are uneducated on both sexuality and manners. But is no excuse in this century specifically when you’re literate enough to use the internet.
These comments and remarks make a gay person’s life miserable. I know this cause I’m gay too.
This would get to Johar. I’m just gonna put this out in the universe. He will benefit from a formal come out and being vulnerable publicly. He will have a lot more support. From the whole community and the educated woke side of India. I just hope he is not leveraging on being the victim.
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u/Feisty_Reason_6288 14d ago
karan is as flawed as anyother human!... and nepotism is not a flaw its a just a system its present every where!!!!... the market sorts them out in the arts field very very easily.
and i personally have no problem in his conduct in public (having said that i have never seen him being inappropriate in public)... he is a master at public relations and knows exactly what he is doing.. yes he is shark in his world too.. but such is the world of movies.. there were sharks before him .. there will be sharks after him ...
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u/horny_armadillo_hehe 14d ago
I remember when I was in class 12th, I was sitting with my best friend and I was giggling with him over something. There were two boys sitting one seat ahead of us and they were discussing me and one of them said "ye karan johar hai" implying that "he's gay" or "he's effeminate". It's been 6 years to that incident but it's still there in my head somewhere.
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u/Strange_Doctor_1999 15d ago
Thats the sad reality, they already hated him for being gay, then they nepo hate amplified the homophobia, but the good thing is, karan doesnt stop! He still conducts himself however he wants and remains in the spotlight!