Amazon India distances from disgraced Khamba

An Indian comic embroiled in allegations of sexual misconduct will no longer be the showrunner for an original series on Amazon.com Inc’s video streaming service, a top Amazon executive said.

Gursimran Khamba, a co-founder of popular comedy collective AIB, was accused of sexual misconduct by an anonymous woman on social media last month. She accused him of “emotional blackmail” and of trying to force himself on her. Khamba has denied any wrongdoing.

AIB has since placed Khamba on a temporary leave of absence.

At the time, Khamba was the showrunner and creator of Gormint, a political satire that AIB was producing for Amazon Prime Video along with talent and event management firm Only Much Louder (OML).

Gormint is a localised form of the word ‘government’. “Khamba is not attached to the project at this point,” said Vijay Subramaniam, director and head of content at Amazon Prime Video India, in an interview.

Amazon has so far remained silent on its association with AIB, which has largely suspended activity after the #MeToo campaign.

Tanmay Bhat, another co-founder, has also stepped down from the group after admitting that he continued to work with another colleague in spite of being aware of accusations of sexual misconduct against him.