Comedy group AIB has released a new statement addressing news that Tanmay Bhat knew about the sexual harassment claims against the comedian Utsav Chakraborty but continued working with him.
Speaking on the allegations against the Chakraborty, AIB said, “We would like to address something that’s been said since allegations of sexual harassment were made against former AIB employee Utsav Chakraborty yesterday. It’s been said that AIB knew of the accusations during his employment and failed to take action. We’d like to offer some clarity on that.”
READ MORE: Comedian Utsav Chakraborty says sorry for his ‘scary truth’
In a long apology posted on Friday, AIB wrote, “Since yesterday we’ve been trying to introspect and process what we did wrong, and everything that came up during our conversations all feel like excuses in hindsight and fact of the matter is that we messed up.”
The statement says that sometime after Utsav had stopped being an AIB employee, Bhat received specific allegations about him in private and personal conversations.
“Tanmay confronted Utsav in a personal capacity – which led to Utsav calling the victim, leading to further harassment,” the statement read.
ALSO READ: AIB says pulling out videos featuring Utsav Chakraborty accused of sexual harassment
“At the time, the accuser did not wish to pursue any further legal action. Out of respect for the person’s privacy, nobody else at AIB was informed of the specifics of the situation, and the matter ended there. And so, as a company, we continued working with Utsav in a freelance capacity for a little longer. That’s on us. We made a big mistake. We should have cut all ties immediately,” the statement read.
The comedy group added that whatever be the reasons, nothing “justify any of our actions”.
“We also completely understand anyone who has felt disappointed, or angry, or betrayed by us over the last few days. We’re sorry,” said AIB.
The comedy group had on Thursday said that they have decided to de-list every video featuring Utsav Chakraborty, a former member who has been accused of sexual harassment by women on social media.
The decision was taken on the day a volley of allegations against Utsav — a YouTuber associated with the group — cropped up after a woman Twitter user wrote that he had sent unsolicited pictures of private parts to women and harassed girls, including minors, through social media platforms.