Comedian Samay Raina, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday, has apologised for his insensitive remarks about people with disabilities.

His earlier jokes about disabled people during his show India’s Got Latent had sparked controversy, leading to a petition filed by the CURE SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Foundation of India. The petition cited inappropriate remarks made by Samay, along with fellow comedians Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjit Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar.

On Sunday, Samay wrote, “Today is my birthday and instead of celebrating just myself, I want to use this day—the most special day of the year for me—to apologise to the people with disabilities.”

“We, Samay Raina, Vipul Goyal, Sonali Thakkar, Nishant Tanwar, Balraj Ghai, deeply regret the pain caused due to our show. Going forward, we will be more mindful and do our best to spread awareness about the challenges faced by the community. Your strength inspires us to grow. With respect and gratitude, Samay, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Ghai, Sonali Thakkar, Nishant Tanwar,” he added.

During the show, Samay cracked a joke about a charity drive that helped a two-month-old baby with Rs 16 crore for a rare disease, for which he/she required an injection used to treat the life-threatening condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

“Ma’am, imagine you were that mother and suddenly Rs 16 crore appeared in your bank account. With a two-month-old baby, wouldn’t you at least glance at your husband and think: 'Hmmm, inflation is rising?’” Raina said during the show.

Further, he stated that the decision would be tough since ‘there is no guarantee that the child would survive anyway’.

Following the show’s controversy, Samay Raina was summoned to the court for making derogatory remarks about people battling disabilities.

The comedian had come under scrutiny earlier this year when his YouTube comedy show faced flak for obscene content and sexually explicit jokes. The controversy reached a boiling point when a joke by Ranveer Allahbadia on the show was deemed insensitive by many viewers. The clip quickly went viral, sparking widespread backlash and intense criticism on social media.

FIRs were lodged against Apoorva Mukhija, Ashish Chanchlani, and Ranveer Allahbadia, among others. Samay, 27, deleted all episodes of the show from his YouTube channel.