Romesh Ranganathan, star of "Celebrity Traitors," has spoken out about the hurtful experience of body shaming after appearing shirtless on television. The comedian, 48, described feeling "horrendous" for weeks after receiving a critical online message following a scene in his show "Asian Provocateur," where he explored his Sri Lankan heritage.
Ranganathan recalled the incident on the "Wolf & Owl with Tom Davis" podcast. During an episode that required him to be topless for a martial arts segment, he decided to proceed despite initial concerns about his physique at the time. "I'd never taken my top off on camera before and I was really big and much bigger than I am now," he said. "And I was worried about it and then I just thought, 'Oh fk it. I'm a comedian and I who gives a fk, just do it.'"
However, after the episode aired, a viewer messaged him saying they couldn't finish their dinner after seeing him topless. "I had about two weeks just feeling horrendous about it," Ranganathan admitted. He emphasized the importance of controlling the power such comments hold, stating, "The truth is you are completely in control over how much power that comment has to you. Do you actually care about that person's opinion of you? That is the battle we've all got to come to get to grips with."
Ranganathan also reflected on the nature of online criticism, suggesting that such comments often stem from the commenter's own issues. "That comment is not about what you look like. It's about someone who has got a serious number of issues. They've got some sort of anger issue and are taking it out on you."
This discussion follows recent headlines where Ranganathan revealed his legal first name is Jonathan. He explained on Seann Walsh's "Class Clown" podcast that his father, concerned about a brown child fitting into British society, had put "Jonathan" on his passport. "They've come over to England. They want their children to have the best opportunities possible. My dad was fiercely worried about brown kids fitting in in British society," he said. While he has joked about being an "undercover cop" due to the name discrepancy, Ranganathan noted the origin was rooted in genuine parental concern.
He recounted his school days, where he would inform teachers that while Jonathan was his legal name, he preferred to be called Romesh. Most teachers accommodated this, except for one English teacher who insisted on using his given name, leading to a mild confrontation. "So, I said to him, 'There's nothing wrong with Jonathan. It's just that everyone calls me [Romesh]' and he said 'Jonathan's a perfectly good name and that's what I'm going to call you' and that's what he called me for the rest of the year."
Ranganathan and actor Sebastian Croft were recently crowned champions of "Celebrity Traitors," splitting the £83,000 prize money.