'Please pray that...' - Indians slam American YouTuber for his remarks on Gorehabba 'cow dung' festival

An American YouTuber participated and filmed the Gorehabba festival in the Gumatapura village of Karnataka, in which people throw dried cow dung at each other to mark the end of Diwali festivities. He is now facing the wrath of Indian users who are slamming him for presenting the country in a bad light. They are allegedly reporting his video en masse, risking censorship. Tyler Oliveira shared a teaser clip titled “Inside India’s Poop-Throwing Festival,” and it quickly garnered more than 5 million views. In another video, he can be seen wearing a hazmat suit and goggles covered in cow dung. “Happy Diwali! Yes, I went to India’s poop throwing festival. It was the s—tiest experience of my life. I will never go back. Please pray that I survive,” he wrote, and added a poop emoji. While his clip went viral, Indians are not having it lying down. They are now criticising the 25-year-old for posting it without having any context about the significance of the Gorehabba "cow dung" festival.

Tyler, with a following of more than eight million, himself shared screengrabs of the backlash with comments from Indian viewers who think he is trying to smear the country. The YouTuber alleges that his video was facing censorship following mass reporting from Indian users. “Why do you have to come to India and then record a video of a cow dung festival by going in the middle of the event and then cry like a loser!” an Indian wrote on X. There are others who think Tyler has specifically been hired to tarnish India's reputation. “He’s not here to explore; he’s here to defame. It’s hard to believe this isn’t part of a planned smear campaign,” an X user wrote.

Other users told Tyler to "record poop on the streets of California", to which Tyler replied, “I’ve filmed in many of these cities. Don’t be mad bro,” Oliveira responded. Some even think the video is AI-generated. However, Tyler said it was real and they will soon post a "30-minute version" of it.

What is the Gorehabba "cow dung" festival?

The festival is celebrated in at least two Indian villages - Gumatapura in Karnataka and Kairuppala near Aspari in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Celebrated a day after Diwali's Bali Padyami, participants throw cow dung at each other. It celebrates god Beereshwara Swamy who is believed to have been born from cow dung, according to Hindu legends.