Social media influencer Apoorva Mukhija had to move out of her Mumbai apartment in the wake of threats from a man who claimed to know her address following her appearance in the controversial India’s Got Latent episode, she said on Wednesday.

“I could not go back to my house. I loved Bombay for its security and now even that sense of security was lost, with me receiving acid attack and rape threats online. So, I had to move to my friend, Ganesh’s place,” said the 23-year-old content creator, who goes by the name The Rebel Kid on YouTube.

“I lost a brand deals. I lost a lot of self-respect. I have been the laughingstock, the punching bag and the girl they would rape and throw acid on if they saw her alive,” added Mukhija in a YouTube video that marked her return to the platform after a two-month break.

In the 34-minute-59-second-long video, Mukhija recounted how she onboarded comedian Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent show following a meeting with Raina at an event in August last year.

Mukhija said that she was nervous throughout her appearance on India’s Got Latent and struggled to be funny. Feeling anxious, she took wrong decisions and made jokes that she now realises were in bad taste. In her latest YouTube video, Mukhija apologised to the audience for having hurt their sentiments.

Mukhija clarified that her joke about women’s genitals came from a place of “anger and retaliation” as the contestant on the show was humiliating her using obscene language.

Mukhija revealed how she was in “disbelief” after she came to know that several FIRs had been filed against her and other judges of the show, including Raina, Ranveer Allahbadia, stand-up comedian Jaspreet Singh and content creator Ashish Chanchlani.

The influencer also spoke about the emotional toll the controversy took on her family. “I let my father down and made him live his worst nightmare,” she said, expressing gratitude for her family’s unwavering support during the difficult time. “If there’s one positive thing to come out of this, it’s that the controversy brought me closer to my family,” Mukhija added.

Towards the end of the video, the content creator announced that all earnings from the video would be donated to acid attack survivors.

Acid attack survivor-activist Laxmi Agarwal on Wednesday thanked Mukhija for her “compassionate support to acid attack survivors”. “The Laxmi Foundation salutes her strength and kindness. We urge everyone to join hands in rebuilding the lives of these incredible individuals. Together, we can make a difference,” wrote Agarwal on Instagram.

The controversial India’s Got Latent episode, featuring Raina, Allahbadia, Mukhija, Singh and Chanchlani, sparked social media outrage following Ranveer’s distasteful comments about parental sex. Multiple FIRs and complaints were lodged against all the judges.

Allahbadia later apologised, and Raina deleted all episodes of the show from his YouTube channel.

Mukhija, who was also accused of making an objectionable comment during the show, appeared before the Mumbai police in connection with the case on February 12.

The National Commission for Women took serious note of the vulgar and offensive remarks made by Allahbadia, Mukhija, Raina, Singh and Chanchlani, summoning them along with the show’s producers, Tushar Poojari and Saurabh Bothra on March 6.

Allahbadia recently returned to social media, sharing a video message in which he announced the comeback of his podcast, The Ranveer Show.