MUMBAI — Abhishek Upmanyu, the stand-up comic known for his sharp wit and relatable riffs on Indian life, has vanished from X, deactivating his account on April 28, 2025, after a firestorm erupted over a single word: “Yup.” The 34-year-old comedian, usually a crowd-pleaser with his YouTube specials and sold-out shows, found himself at the center of a heated controversy when he appeared to endorse a Pakistani user’s scathing post about India.
The drama kicked off when Abhijit Iyer Mitra, a commentator with a knack for stirring the pot, shared a crude poem on X targeting Pakistani women. This was days after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 dead, mostly tourists, and sent tensions between India and Pakistan soaring. A Pakistani user, going by
@lilmisskhawaja
, fired back, slamming the post as classless and calling India a “hub of rapists” that “rightfully” faces racism abroad. Upmanyu’s response—a blunt “Yup”—lit a match in an already volatile online space.
The backlash was swift and brutal. Fans who once roared with laughter at his jokes turned livid, flooding X with disappointment and rage. Some called him a traitor for seemingly siding with a Pakistani user at a time when India was mourning. Others questioned how a comedian known for poking fun at everyday absurdities could wade into such a charged geopolitical mess. By Monday, Upmanyu’s account was gone, leaving nothing but a blank space where his 5 million followers once hung on his quips.
The Pakistani user’s account,
@lilmisskhawaja
, didn’t survive the fallout either. It was withheld in India by April 28, flagged with a notice that it had been blocked due to a legal demand. Upmanyu, meanwhile, has stayed silent, issuing no statement or apology to clarify his stance. His sudden exit from X has only fueled the debate, with some wondering if he’ll resurface to explain himself or let the dust settle on its own.
This isn’t Upmanyu’s first brush with attention—his YouTube channel boasts 5.26 million subscribers, and his Instagram still hums with 2.7 million followers. Before comedy, he wrote for the irreverent show On Air with AIB, building a rep for clever, observational humor. But this controversy, tied to a raw national wound, has cast a shadow over his usually lighthearted image. Whether he meant to provoke or just misjudged the moment, the comedian’s one-word reply has cost him his X presence—for now.