Mithun Vijay Kumar has asked Netflix to remove the episode or face legal action for promoting discrimination against women.
A political analyst has filed a lawsuit against video-streaming platform Netflix over an episode in American sitcom ‘The Big Bang Theory’. He claims that it uses a “derogatory term” to refer to Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit, as per a report in news agency PTI.
In the legal notice, political analyst Mithun Vijay Kumar wants the streaming giant remove the first episode of season 2 where Kunal Nayyar’s character Raj Koothrapalli and Jim Parsons’s character Sheldon Cooper compare Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit.
In the scene in question, Sheldon Cooper calls Aishwarya Rai a poor man’s Madhuri Dixit. In response to his comment, Raj Koothrapalli replies, “Aishwarya Rai is a goddess, by comparison, Madhuri Dixit is a leprous prostitute”.
Mr Kumar said the character’s comments are both disrespectful and defamatory. He has asked Netflix to remove the episode or face legal action for promoting discrimination against women. The notice has been sent to the Netflix office in Mumbai, as per the news agency.
Recently, I came across an episode of the show Big Bang Theory on Netflix where Kunal Nayyar's character uses an offensive and derogatory term to refer to the legendary Bollywood actress @MadhuriDixit. As a fan of Madhuri Dixit since childhood, I was deeply disturbed by the… pic.twitter.com/pvRCKd5Ne4
— Mithun Vijay Kumar (@MVJonline) March 22, 2023
“My client is deeply concerned about the negative impact that such content can have on society, particularly in perpetuating harmful stereotypes and discrimination against women. This content is not only insensitive but also promotes sexism and misogyny, which is unacceptable in any form,” the notice said.