Netflix responds to legal notice against ‘The Big Bang Theory's Madhuri Dixit remark

Netflix has reacted to the legal notice sent by political analyst Mithun Vijay Kumar demanding the removal of its show ‘The Big Bang Theory’. The OTT giant has redirected him to Warner Bros, who is the licensor.

Speaking with Hindustan Times about the response, Kumar said, ‘As a sensible streaming service provider that understands cultural sensitivities, Netflix has informed the original producers of the show regarding the gravity of the issue raised by me. I hope Warner Bros will take appropriate content moderation measures and ensure that their content is free from such abusive language towards people and cultures.’

‘As an individual, I believe that all such programs that use derogatory language in the name of humour must be taken down. We even have recent observations from an honourable high court on the need to regulate content with vulgar language on social media and OTT. While the Big Bang Theory episode may be one such issue, there are plenty of other shows where the content needs to be regulated. But I hope this incident has highlighted the need for content moderation on streaming platforms when foul language crosses a particular line. In our society, even today, swear words are not spoken in the presence of family, women, children, etc., then why is OTT an exception?’ he added.

Mithun Vijay Kumar accused the popular American sitcom ‘The Big Bang Theory’ of promoting sexism and misogyny. In the first episode of season two, Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper, called Aishwarya Rai ‘a poor man’s Madhuri Dixit.' Kunal Nayyar's character Raj Koothrapalli, replied, ‘Aishwarya Rai is a goddess, by comparison, Madhuri Dixit is a leprous prostitute.’

‘The Big Bang Theory’ premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007. It has remained one of the most-watched sitcoms on Netflix.

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