Shehzad Poonawalla backed comedian Samay Raina on Saturday following the release of the latest episode of the latter’s show ‘India’s Got Latent’, saying people were “too quick to judge” him.
However, Raina announced a comeback of India’s Got Latent a couple of months ago, and five episodes from the show’s second season have already been released on YouTube. “Beneath the irreverence is empathy, intelligence and a surprisingly sensitive heart. The row erupted after guest Ranveer Allahbadia’s remarks on an episode, which resulted in widespread backlash, resulting in multiple FIRs and legal challenges to the show. “ Samay keeps changing. Bad times aren’t permanent.
Raina ran into controversy in February, 2025 over his YouTube show India’s Got Latent and faced legal action over allegations of promoting obscenity and sexually explicit content.
Sharing a moment from Raina’s show, the former BJP spokesperson said people “often judge” the comedian by his “language, his jokes or his viral comebacks & moments”. However, highlighting the viral video, Poonawalla said Raina has a “surprisingly sensitive heart”. Perhaps we are too quick to make role models out of people who say all the right things and too quick to judge people who don’t,” Poonawalla said. In his post on his official handle on social media platform X, Poonawalla, who recently quit the BJP, said Raina was the “best reminder like his name. Good times can end too,” he said, while urging people to “stay decent and humble.”
Poonawalla said that he was acquainted with Raina’s father, and praised the comedian’s “love, responsibility and devotion” towards his parents. He termed Raina’s journey as “remarkable”, stating that it speaks “more about him than any clip ever could. “I prefer to judge people by what they do when nobody is asking them to prove what kind of person they are,” the former BJP leader said, adding that it was the “little moments that reveal character. “Like this now viral instance where his five marks changed the average to nine and ultimately helped this beautiful young girl win,” he said, speaking about the clip. Poonawalla said that while Raina had “thought several steps ahead” when he gave the marks, “more importantly he had thought about someone else.”
