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Vegan comedian Romesh Ranganathan has revealed that he’s received ‘vitriolic hate’ after making a video saying vegans are better than meat eaters.
In the video posted by BBC2, Ranganathan says: “People hate vegans and the reason they hate vegans is because they think we’re humorless, they think we think we’re better than non-vegans, they think we’re always banging on about it, and all of those things are true.
“I am better than you if you’re not vegan. In terms of my ethical decisions, I am so much better than you. I’m better for the planet, I’m better for the animals. There’s nothing worse about me apart from I’m slightly irritating to have round for dinner.”
Hate
But in a column for The Guardian, the comic reveals the backlash has been harsh. He says after recording the quick segment, he asked the production team if it was OK. They said it was great and ‘should provoke some discussion’.
“What I didn’t realize was that this actually meant my social media timelines were going to be taken over for the following week with vegans telling me how great I was and meat eaters telling me that I was the worst scum of the Earth and that my time to pay would come soon,” wrote Ranganathan.
Vitriol
“I was pretty taken aback by the level of vitriol thrown in my direction, but the truth is I have only myself to blame. I said something deliberately provocative – that people hate vegans because they’re better than everyone else – and was surprised when people were provoked. I had forgotten that there is absolutely no place for nuance, context or any kind of grey area when it comes to social media.
“So the lesson has been learned. I am never going to trust the internet again. You will see me express provocative views only on comedy shows, on stage and in this column. And probably another video, who am I kidding? Vegans are the future, and if you eat dairy and meat you don’t care about the planet.”
You can watch the video here
