Social media influencer Apoorva Mukhija, also known as The Rebel Kid, has found herself in the middle of a controversy after her ex-boyfriend, Utsav Dahiya, dropped a song on Instagram that netizens interpreted as an indirect dig at her.
Earlier this week, Dahiya dropped a song titled Cute Little Red Flag, a phrase which was interpreted by listeners as a nod to Mukhija, who often uses this phrase in her videos on social media.
Utsav Dahiya, a 23-year-old investment banker, touches upon the themes of cheating, bullying and lying in his song. The lyrics further say that he had dodged a bullet after his break-up, and now he is at peace.
Apart from the song, Dahiya also penned a long note, slamming the influencer for portraying him in a negative light after their breakup, which happened in January this year.
“Now, if you talk nonsense again, I’ll bring out the receipts. Never try to gain sympathy by fabricating lies or pushing false narratives just to make content and assassinate someone’s character online. Having a big following doesn’t give you the right to bully your way by rage-baiting your audience and unleashing them on others,” Dahiya wrote on Instagram.
Dahiya also revealed that when he reached out to Mukhija and her agency after being falsely portrayed as a cheat and abuser, they shoved him away, by calling him a ‘nobody’.
“Instead, I was told, ‘You’re a nobody, you should be happy you got to date her.’ So here’s a message from that nobody: you tried your level best (and I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy), but I’m still here, still standing. That should tell you something — your big numbers only matter on an app. There’s a real and much bigger world outside — beyond lies and drama. Truth doesn’t need ‘followers’; it stands on its own,” he wrote.
The fallout didn’t stop there. Soon after Dahiya posted the song, other influencer friends of Mukhija unfollowed her and distanced themselves. Sufi Motiwala, who had appeared alongside her during reality show The Traitors, stated in an Instagram story that they were no longer friends, clarifying that he wanted to be close to “Apoorva, not the Rebel Kid.”
Influencer and travel blogger Anunay Sood, whom Apoorva Mukhija used to address as her ‘brother’, has also unfollowed her and liked Dahiya’s song. Jatin Parmar, another influencer, has unfollowed The Rebel Kid and liked Dahiya’s reel.
While the controversy picked up steam, Mukhija herself chose not to issue any detailed clarification. Instead, she shared cryptic updates on her Instagram stories, including one that read, “I love the tea as much as you all.”
Mukhija made headlines earlier this year for her comments on the controversial YouTube comedy show India’s Got Latent, which landed her, Samay Raina, Ranveer Allahbadia, Jaspreet Singh and Ashish Chanchlani in legal trouble.
