Yasir Hussain’s absolutely offensive joke on child abuse leads to uproar

Actor Yasir Hussain on Saturday night made a crass joke about child molestation that has caught social media in a whirlwind of anger.

When Ahsan Khan went up to the stage to receive his Hum Award for his role in Udaari – which raised the ultra delicate and less-talked-about issue of child molestation – Hussain said, "Itna khobsurat child molester, kash main bhi bacha hota. (Seeing such a good-looking child molester, I wish I was a child too!)"

While some media outlets reported that the audience did not pause to call out Hussain on his insensitive remark and continued to laugh, Twitter was taking none of it.

 

Hassan Choudary's Twitter account

 

Last night #HumAwards when Ahsan Khan won for #Udaari, host Yasir Hussain joked "Itna khobsurat child molester, kash main bhi bacha hota"

— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) April 30, 2017

 

Even more outrageously than the joke was the fact that majority of the attendees laughed at the joke despite their exposure and education

— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) April 30, 2017

 

In a award show last year, host Ahmed Ali Butt did a whole skit making fun about dwarfism. With time we are supposed to progress not regress

— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) April 30, 2017

 

Yasir Hussain's comment last night proves that Ahsan Khan & Udaari's teams should be encouraged to produce more work for awareness/education

— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) April 30, 2017

 

Speechless!!! pic.twitter.com/azDGTYC91m

— MunibaMazariOfficial (@muniba_mazari) April 30, 2017

 

#HumAwards2017 #YasirHussain #RapeCulture #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/f26IxbABrk

— Hadiqa Kiani (@Hadiqa_Kiani) May 1, 2017

 

Finding humor in child molestation which is yet a big issue in Pakistan is disgraceful! #YasirHussain must appologize. #HumAwards https://t.co/9B5jcvozDE

— Kiran Raza (@kiranraza_01) May 1, 2017

 

Yasir Hussain's "slip of tongue" at #HUMAwards is the reason why the hosts/presenters should rehearse what they r going to say on the stage.

— Myra Zafar (@MyraZafar) April 30, 2017

 

These #HUMAwards look to have been a train-wreck. Disgusting attempts at humor, moral police lectures, misogyny and more.

— Hafsa Khawaja (@Hafsa_Khawaja) April 30, 2017

 

pieces of shit like Yasir Hussain are the reason why abuse victims can't reach out for help, can't even talk about their experiences

—  (@aminanimal_) May 1, 2017

 

The most influential people in Pk, crème de la crème, sat in a room full of privilege & laughed on the Yasir Hussain joke.
Think about that.

— h (@HaadeaP) April 30, 2017

 

1/2 Child molestation s not a joke #YasirHussain it's a serious crime, go & ask de childrens who ve gone through this ordeal #HumAwards2017

— Annum Xahra Naqvi (@Numzeeee) May 1, 2017

 

To add to this, it is said that the joke was not in the script.

The question that follows, importantly, is that since extemporary comments shine a light on what a person is like on the inside, the side only they are aware of, is Hussain one of those who actually thinks abuse and other social issues are hilarious?

But this is what Hussain has to say:

 

 

I strongly feel against child abuse and I will make sure to work in adding awareness of this issue!  #ahsankhan #thewinner #udaari 

A post shared by yasir hussain (@yasir.hussain131) on Apr 30, 2017 at 6:05am PDT

 

"I am just as against child abuse as you all are. The joke I made is being portrayed in a different manner than I had originally intended to. I apologise to Ahsan bhai and the rest."

 

 

#yasirhussain #humawards

A post shared by yasir hussain (@yasir.hussain131) on Apr 30, 2017 at 11:55am PDT

 

When someone from a local media outlet managed to talk to him, interestingly, this is what he had to say, "First of all, no one's talking about the first part of my segment which got a lot of laughs, why is the positive aspect of my performance being put aside?"

"Secondly, when you improvise, things come out of your mouth that may not be appropriate. What I said, I said in praise of Ahsan Khan, it had nothing to do with child molestation. I certainly didn't mean to encourage child molestation. But if this hurts people, then I have said sorry for it," he continued.

Really?

 

it's downright alarming how flippant yasir hussain is about the joke he made and his 'snapchat apology'

— Sameen - (@someaningless) April 30, 2017

 

You may already have good projects like movie Karachi Se Lahore and drama serial Dareecha under your belt, but it doesn't excuse you from being inconsiderate towards social issues.

While the show will, nevertheless, be remembered for this distasteful joke, let's hope more awareness is spread about such issues.