The makers of the singing reality show Indian Idol 15 found themselves at the receiving end of severe backlash after they invited veteran singer Udit Narayan and his wife as special guests in the latest episode. Netizens slammed the makers for getting the singer onboard days after his infamous kiss controversy.
On Saturday, Udit Narayan and his wife Deepa appeared on Indian Idol 15 as special guests and reunited with their son Aditya Narayan who hosts the show. Contestants were also seen singing all songs crooned by the veteran singer.
While he received a warm welcome on the show, his attendance did not go down well with netizens, who criticised the makers of the reality show and accused them of trying to "whitewash" his image.
"Indian Idol just lost whatever little credibility it had. Instead of calling out Udit Narayan for his audience-kissing incident, they invited him as a guest, brought his wife & even showed a message from his mother - a pure PR stunt. Disappointing! (sic)," a user wrote on X.
"Indian Idol is celebrating Udit Narayan in today's episode. Where is the shame sony entertainment television? (sic)," another user rued.
What is Udit Narayan's kiss controversy?
A few days ago, a video of Udit went viral in which he was seen kissing his female fans on the lips as they approached him for selfies during his live performance. Udit was slammed for the "indecent" and "sleazy" act as the video was all over the internet within no time.
Later, the singer issued a statement and said that he was not ashamed about it and instead, he called it "a manifestation of love" between him and his fans. "Why would I do something now at this stage of my life when I have achieved it all? What you saw in the so-called scandalous video was a manifestation of the love between my fans and I. They love me. I love them back even more," he said.
"If some people want to see something dirty in my act of pure affection, then I feel sorry for them," he added.
