Randeep Hooda has been removed as the ambassador of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), United Nation’s environmental treaty after a controversy erupted over his derogatory comments against Bahujan Samaj Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
A nine-year-old video clip of him making a ‘casteist’, 'misogynistic' and ‘sexist’ joke against the popular politican has been going viral on the internet since Wednesday. The video in question has got netizens fuming and calling out Hooda for his unsavoury remarks. The video from an even organized in 2012 resurfaced when a Twitter user shared it. The video has Hooda cracking a joke and then laughing along with the audience.
if this does not explain how casteist and sexist this society is, especially towards dalit women, i don’t know what will. the “joke”, the audacity, the crowd. randeep hooda, top bollywood actor talking about a dalit woman, who has been the voice of the oppressed. pic.twitter.com/lVxTJKnj53
— Agatha Srishtie please DM with SOS tweets (@SrishtyRanjan) May 25, 2021
Now, taking heed of the video, the Secretariat of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) issued a statement against Hooda that reads, “The Secretariat of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) has become aware of a video clip of CMS Ambassador Randeep Hooda from around 2012 that was recently posted on social media. The CMS Secretariat finds the comments made in the video to be offensive, and they do not reflect the values of the CMS Secretariat or the United Nations.”
Statement of the Secretariat of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) on Mr. Randeep Hoodahttps://t.co/ex5ymsQaiC
— Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) (@BonnConvention) May 27, 2021
It further adds, “Mr. Hooda was appointed as a CMS Ambassador for Migratory Species in February 2020 due to his support for the conservation of wildlife. The CMS Secretariat was unaware of the 2012 video at that time. While CMS is a treaty of the United Nations, it is separate from both the UN Secretariat and the UN Environment Programme. The only entity for which Mr. Hooda served as a brand Ambassador was CMS. Mr. Hooda no longer serves as a CMS ambassador.”
(Source: CMS Twitter)
