The complete sequence of events leading to the arrest of Elvish Yadav is now being shared in a WhatsApp group of a Noida society. There's a faction which states that Elvish is innocent and being framed, while the other faction claims the opposite. But as a citizen, I'm alarmed to be part of a society that turns a blind eye to online abuse, glorifying a young man engaging in disrespectful behaviour, as a "hero."
Siddharth Yadav, aka Elvish Yadav, a 26-year-old from Gurugram, started his YouTube channel in 2016. During that time as well he produced inappropriate content. Roasting is considered a form of comedy. Using it to promote gender discrimination, sexual remarks, body shaming, and abusive language became a trend in his YouTube videos. However, Elvish gained popularity among a particular demographic.
It's alarming that not only is he part of shows like Big Boss (OTT), he is also winning it. He received a creator award just 30 hours before his arrest. Former Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, was present during his grand welcome in Noida. Despite cursing the system, how did this boy become bigger than the system? Well, we didn't realise that.
We criticise movies like "Animal" for toxic masculinity because we know neither Ranbir Kapoor nor Sandeep Reddy Vanga will come to beat us up or come to our home. But writing about Elvish makes our hands shake because not only does he threaten, but he also finds your address and physically assaults you. I was interrupted four times while writing this article. It was mentioned that a journalist from Ghaziabad has been threatened by Elvish. But if only Elvish has the freedom to speak, should we all start singing "Arjan Vailly," and remain silent on violence, and cruelty?
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Many people were concerned about the “toxic masculinity” depicted in the movie "Animal," but Elvish and his army of youth are living that lifestyle. They openly assault people, challenge the police, threaten on social media, and slap people in restaurants.
A young man intoxicated with popularity is showing us a mirror, one that our children consider role models. The star you don't want your children to become is exactly that.
He had earlier made derogatory comments about popular social media personality Kusha Kapila. He also called actor Arjun Bijlani a "woman."
Elvish's comments reveal that he doesn't understand gender yet. In a country that celebrates "Women's Day" with great fervor, where feminism is still misunderstood, and girls are falling victim to sexual abuse, we ignore Elvish's comments, giving him free hand to say and do anything.
In the latest snake venom case, Elvish was arrested. He now faces serious charges of organising rave parties in Delhi-NCR. Drugs were used at these events. Here, snake venom was used for intoxication, and foreign women were lured here for human trafficking.
He has been charged under seven sections of the NDPS Act (Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985). Elvish has admitted to these allegations, but still a whole army on social media is supporting him.
As a society, we need to understand that YouTubers like these are dangerous for us. If Elvish is an entertainer, let him entertain; crime and violence deserve punishment, not subscriptions.
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First, they become national stars, then they start becoming role models for an entire generation. Looking at their followers on social media, our children will start talking like them. Are you ready for your son or daughter to speak like Elvish or engage in the business of snake venom? I know mistakes are made by young people, but Elvish is a 26-year-old man - legally capable of making his own decisions. A social media star should be responsible, not a culprit.
Perhaps people may find my personal concern with Elvish disturbing, but as a journalist, I'm worried. I can only explain to you in simple terms. Imagine if you were driving on a road of Noida-Greater Noida and later due to some issue related to parking you had an argument with a person driving an SUV. Would you prefer Elvish Yadav coming out of the other car or an ordinary person? The answer that comes to your mind is enough to tell us where we stand as a society and who are the people collecting likes and subscribers among us. The system will do its job, and they will be punished, but as a society, we should also do our job and dislike and report such hateful abusive content.
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