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Chinmayi Sripada slams trolls for bullying KBC 17 contestant Ishit Bhatt: ‘Horrible bunch of bullies..’; netizens agree
The internet may have turned against KBC 17’s young contestant Ishit Bhatt, but singer Chinmayi Sripada isn’t having it
If you’ve been anywhere near social media lately, you’ve likely come across the debate surrounding Kaun Banega Crorepati 17's young contestant Ishit Bhatt. What began as a lighthearted clip praising host Amitabh Bachchan’s patience with the young participant quickly spiralled into a storm of memes and trolling.
The fifth-grade student from Gujarat initially won hearts for his confidence and quick wit on the show. But soon, many viewers began criticising his tone, calling him “arrogant” and “disrespectful” toward the legendary host — even though Bachchan remained his usual calm and cheerful self throughout.
As short clips of the episode went viral across Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), Ishit became one of the most discussed names online — unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. The trolling grew so intense that it caught the attention of playback singer Chinmayi Sripada, who decided to speak up in his defence.
Chinmayi Sripada defends the boy
Taking to her X account on Monday, Sripada called out the hypocrisy of adults mocking a child on the internet. “An adult putting a tweet saying most hated kid. Adults here on Twitter have been one of the most lousy, foul-mouthed, abusive lot; none of these voices said a thing when kids died due to a cough syrup,” she wrote. She continued, “But yeah pick on a kid. Says a LOT about the ecosystem. This entire lot is picking on one overexcited kid – what a horrible bunch of bullies these have raised themselves to be.”
Sripada’s statement has sparked a wave of support for the young contestant, with many agreeing that online criticism of a child crosses the line. “Exactly it has spread like wildfire…we all were not well behaved when we were kids. Life has its way of sculpting our character.. it's too bad that people are sharing this clip without thinking of the kids future,” said one comment under her post. “Adults have the tendency to forget, how they were in childhood..” said one more comment. Another read, “Oh this is so sad ,the kid is precocious but one doesn't have to hate lil ones.”
