Influencer says he's sorry if his post calling people 'peasants' offended anyone: 'I failed as a comedian'
Content creator Darshen Kuna has posted a video to apologise for a March 31 post where he called economy-class travellers "peasants".
He said a friend had sent him a Stomp article about him.
Darshen said in the April 2 video: "I saw my face on Stomp and you know that if you appear on Stomp means you did something very naughty."
In the Stomp article about the offending post, a Stomper said: "It's very rude and demeaning of him to call people peasants just because they fly economy."
The article reported that Darshen explained the post was "satire and sarcasm". Netizens defended him too.
But one detractor responded: "I know what satire is. This is not satire.
"He's basically saying flying business class is worth it and calling the rest of us peasants. But that's a s****y take because most people can't afford something so expensive. And that's why I think it's problematic. Pretty sure the joke is y'all here. Good luck."
In the new video posted on social media, Darshen reiterated that the post was "completely satire".
He asked: "Did Stomp not know that it was satire? Did I offend their intern?...
"But people would know that it's satire, right? So I went to read the comment section."
Darshen highlight one comment that said he looked like pigeon.
"Rude but true because I can coo like pigeon," quipped the influencer.
Another comment he highlighted said that Darshen was also a peasant since he travelled in economy class.
"Exactly," said Darshen in the video. "I travel in economy. So this whole post to begin with was satire!"
Still, he apologised: "I'm genuinely so sorry to the people that have been offended by the post and it means that I failed as a comedian because my job as a comedian is to make people happy."
Darshen added: "Lastly, I would like to apologise to Stomp for thinking that I'm not funny enough or I did a very bad job as a comedian because you didn't catch that post as satire."
The video ends with him pretending to cry.
In contrast, the text accompanying the video is more sombre in tone.
He wrote: "I'm so sorry if my recent post has offended and hurt anyone as that was never my intention.
"As a comedian, I try my best to make people happy and bring smiles to their faces.
"Having a story spin on Stomp has made me reflect that I failed to do so and I will do better next time. I'm truly sorry."
