Sai Durgha Tej recalls wanting to ‘burn down social media’ over YouTuber Praneeth Hanumantu’s pedophile joke: 'Is this what we want for our kids?'

Actor Sai Durgha Tej, formerly known as Sai Dharam Tej, revisited last year’s controversy around YouTuber Praneeth Hanumantu at the Abhayam Masoom Summit 2025 in Hyderabad. The actor admitted that when he first came across the pedophile ‘joke’ online, his immediate reaction was that he wanted to “burn down social media.”On stage, Sai called a man from the audience to read out the same lines Praneeth had made. After the reading, Sai highlighted how shocking it was that 137 people had reacted with laughter emojis. He said it disturbed him to see so many endorse such remarks, questioning if this was the future society wanted for children and the next generation.He reminded the audience that the girl referred to in the ‘joke’ was only four years old, and revealed she had later sent him a voice note thanking him for speaking up. Sai said he had waited for someone else to raise their voice but when no one did, he felt compelled to step in. In his words, people were using “dark comedy” as a shield to justify senseless and inappropriate comments, forgetting that freedom of speech should never come at the cost of hurting others.The clip, which spread widely in 2024, triggered backlash not just from netizens but also from actors like Manchu Manoj, Nara Rohith, Sudhir Babu, Karthikeya and others. Praneeth eventually apologised, admitting it was his failed attempt at humour. Praneeth later issued an apology.