Comedian Vidushi Swaroop Calls Prostitution A "Cool Profession", Sparks Debate

The stand-up comedy space in India has grown massively in the last couple of years. Many people watch these stand-up videos and comedy shows in their free time. Several even book offline tickets to watch the shows live. However, sometimes, the jokes by the comedians don't go well with the audience and can offend a large section of people. Similarly, stand-up comedian Vidushi Swaroop is being heavily slammed online after a video of her calling prostitution a "cool profession" went viral. The now-viral clip is from one of her stand-up acts.

In the clip, Ms Swaroop begins by labelling prostitution a "cool profession". She goes on to discuss the "experience" in the profession and how it differs from the rest. These insensitive remarks by her angered the internet.

Nothing is more dumb than saying Prostitution is a cool profession, ask those women who are working & going through these things.
Those who are laughing & encouraging her for her idiotic stuff , pls start using your brain .

pic.twitter.com/OUlohYUSRC

— Dr Manjeet Dhiman (@DrMann1995) October 23, 2023

"Where is the comedy? I didn't feel anything other than disgust," said a user.

"Such a disgrace. Such a disgrace," said another user.

A third person added, "Shameful."

"Well I'm trying to find words for the audience who are laughing," added a user.

"Only uneducated fools can make joke on prostitution. If she by chance get any chance to learn about child trafficking, human trafficking and the vicious circle of poverty she would be so so ashamed of herself," said a person.

Poet Kumar Vishwas wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "In fact, this is not only absurd but also inhuman and cruel. This insensitive joke is just a glimpse of today's so-called stand-up presentations that constantly make fun of vulgar and cultural values. It is fortunate that no male presenter did this cheap thing, otherwise all the commissions would have woken up. Shame on those who laughed "

However, some people also supported her. A user added, "IMO, this is dark comedy which exposes the evil of prostitution and the sad reality (Intent can only be confirmed by watching full video though). Nothing wrong with it if she is not justifying it or spreading misinformation."

"This is some beautiful dark comedy. A little uncomfortable, but that's what dark comedy is supposed to make you feel," said another user.

The stand-up comedian took to Instagram and posted Mr Vishwas' post. Responding to the same she said, "This video is taken from a full YouTube video, so it does not reflect the actual perspective of the clip. Therefore, I have a humble request to all of you- before making your decision, please evaluate the entire video once."